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Like the joint maritime patrols of the Philippines and the United States in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), the country’s possible Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with Japan received mixed reactions from fishermen in this province.
After concluding his five-day trip to Japan, President Ferdinand Marcos said the country could get into VFA with Japan, saying that it might help to protect maritime territory, including fisherfolk.
Bobby Roldan, a fisherman in Masinloc and Luzon vice chair of the fisher group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) said a military pact with another foreign power like Japan would not decrease the tension in the WPS.
Roldan believed such agreements would not protect Filipino fishermen but would only trigger harassment in their traditional fishing grounds.
