A Hollow Victory for Philippine Fishermen at Scarborough Shoal

For Henrilito Empoc and Rony Drio, the landmark legal victory in The Hague has not restored their access to the traditional fishing grounds of Scarborough Shoal. Instead, they recount a decade of intensifying harassment, where Chinese vessels use water cannons and cut anchor lines to enforce control. Empoc, who last fished the shoal in 2022, now supplements his dwindling income by driving a motorized tricycle taxi. Drio, having not ventured near the area since 2024, remembers a time when being ordered away meant dragging his boat across sharp coral to escape Chinese personnel.

Beijing continues to reject the tribunal’s findings, maintaining its own "indisputable sovereignty" over the feature it calls Huangyan Island. Since a 2012 standoff, China has held effective control, occasionally deploying floating barriers and proposing nature reserves to further entrench its position. This persistent friction has elevated the risk of military escalation, highlighted by a violent June 2024 encounter at Second Thomas Shoal that left a Filipino sailor injured.

Despite these hardships, legal experts note that the 2016 ruling has served as a catalyst for Manila’s modern security strategy. By documenting Chinese actions and leveraging the tribunal’s decision, the Philippines has successfully deepened defense ties with the United States, Japan, and Australia. Jay Batongbacal, director of the Institute of Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, suggests that China’s aggressive stance has paradoxically accelerated the growth of Manila’s international security coalition. Yet, for the small-scale fishermen of Masinloc, this geopolitical progress offers little consolation. As Drio noted, the legal triumph feels empty while the waters remain off-limits.