“We continue to fish. This is not a new occurrence. The Chinese coastguard and militia have been doing this for a long time,” Leonardo Cuaresma, president of the New Masinloc Fisherman’s Association, told This Week in Asia.

“By God’s grace, they haven’t detained any fishermen even if their patrols have gotten stricter,” Cuaresma said.

Ahead of the implementation of Beijing’s new anti-trespassing regulation, fishermen’s groups in the Philippines threatened to kidnap Chinese nationals as retaliation for every Filipino detained by China.

“The fishermen who have been catching fish around Bajo de Masinloc have been affected the most,” Cuaresma said, referring to Scarborough Shoal by its Filipino name. “No one can get close to the payao [a traditional device for attracting fish] to harvest their catch, as the Chinese coastguard patrols as far as 40 nautical miles from Bajo de Masinloc.”

“As [the fishermen’s] leader, when we talk, we continue to remind them that even if no one has been detained yet, they need to exert extra caution. That’s the only thing we can do for them, we can’t stop them from going out to sea as we won’t be able to support their livelihoods,” Cuaresma said.

As more fishermen have turned to deep-sea fishing, venturing up to 20 to 30 nautical miles (37km-56km) off the shores of Zambales is not uncommon.

Meanwhile, observers have noted increased Chinese patrols within the West Philippine Sea, Manila’s name for those parts of the South China Sea that includes the country’s exclusive economic zone.

“China is showing that such joint military drills no longer deter it. Under the pretext of responding to such actions that may undermine its interests in the hotspot, Beijing is upping the ante against Manila, including in Ayungin Shoal,” he said, referring to Second Thomas Shoal by its Filipino name.

Joshua Espena, vice-president of the International Development and Security Cooperation think tank, said China was testing the limits of the Philippines’ newly introduced Comprehensive Archipelagic Defence Concept.

“China is currently trying to provoke us by testing its limits close to our territorial waters,” said Don McLain Gill, a geopolitical analyst and lecturer at De La Salle University’s Department of International Studies. “It seeks to create any form of controversy it can use to its favour in the context of active escalation.”

Following the clash on June 17, Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said his department was working towards bringing China back to the negotiating table.

He told a Senate panel on Tuesday that the Philippines was seeking a peaceful resolution to the bilateral dispute through international law and diplomacy.

“Of course, we are not blind to the incidents which are happening, and we will ensure that whatever confidence-building measures we achieve, they will be not at the expense of the promotion of our sovereignty, sovereign rights as well as our rights and jurisdiction in the West Philippine Sea,” Manalo said.

Cuaresma said he and his fellow fishermen trusted that the Philippine authorities would keep them safe, adding that the community had heard from officials including Philippine Navy Inspector General Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad.

“Commodore Trinidad gave a promise that they will continue to watch over the fishermen and they will always be there for support, with three patrols around Bajo de Masinloc, while the rest are scattered around Palawan,” he said.

“As our armed defence at sea is weaker, there is nothing we can do.”