China’s ‘Propaganda-Driven’ Aid to Filipino Fishers in West Philippine Sea Criticized by Atin Ito

In a heated exchange of narratives, civil society coalition Atin Ito has strongly condemned what it describes as Chinese propaganda regarding a recent maritime incident in the West Philippine Sea. The controversy centers on China’s claims of providing humanitarian assistance to a Filipino fisherman on Christmas Day.

The Chinese Embassy had reported that its Navy ship 174 delivered “essential food and water to a fisherman who had been stranded for three days due to engine failure” in the South China Sea. According to the embassy’s account, they also coordinated follow-up support with the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

However, PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, Commodore Jay Tarriela, directly contradicted this narrative, stating that the agency never received prior information from the Chinese Navy about the location or condition of the fisherman in question.

Atin Ito, a coalition dedicated to protecting West Philippine Sea rights and Filipino fishers’ welfare, has categorically rejected China’s version of events, describing it as “deceptive, self-serving, and propaganda-driven.”

“What China did was not humanitarianism, it is image management. It is propaganda-driven assistance meant to distract us from years of harassment, violence and illegal incursions,” said Rafaela David, co-convenor of Atin Ito and president of Akbayan Party.

The timeline of events has become a particular point of contention. While China claimed the fisherman had been missing for three days, PCG officials clarified that he had been safely anchored to a payao—a fish aggregating device—for less than 24 hours and was simply waiting for retrieval by his mother boat.

Tarriela elaborated on this discrepancy, explaining that “the service boat departed on a fishing trip on December 24 around 3:00 p.m., and the fisherman was located by the PCG and the mother boat the following afternoon—less than 24 hours later.”

The incident takes place against the backdrop of escalating tensions in the West Philippine Sea, part of the broader South China Sea, where territorial disputes between China and several Southeast Asian nations, including the Philippines, have intensified in recent years. China claims almost the entire South China Sea, including areas recognized by a 2016 international tribunal ruling as belonging to the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone.

David raised a fundamental question about the incident: “Why was China patrolling inside the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone in the first place? No act of assistance, however welcome, grants permission to trespass. No gesture of kindness erases repeated acts of harassment and violence in our waters.”

The Atin Ito representative also referenced recent confrontational incidents, noting that just days earlier, China Coast Guard vessels had reportedly water-cannoned Filipino fishers at Escoda Shoal and conducted aggressive maneuvers that damaged two Philippine fishing boats.

“China should stop pretending that a bottle of water and a pack of snacks can wipe away years of harassment,” David said. “Propaganda-driven assistance does not negate violation of international law, launder aggression, or absolve China of continuing encroachment… The Filipino people will not be gaslit into gratitude for an obvious PR spectacle from a foreign aggressor.”

This incident highlights the ongoing strategic communication battle playing out alongside physical confrontations in the disputed waters, with both sides attempting to control the narrative around maritime encounters. The Philippines has increasingly publicized what it considers Chinese aggression in the region, while China has portrayed its actions as lawful and occasionally humanitarian.

GMA News Online reported that it reached out to the Chinese Embassy for comment on Atin Ito’s statements, but no response had been received at the time of reporting.