Tensions in South China SeaMore stories online at straitstimes.com

• Video: Tanmen fisherman Shi Yingbo claims “ancestral rights” to fish in contested waters

• Online exclusive: Shells of endangered giant clams have become the new ivory

• Slider: How reclamation has transformed tiny reefs and islands

• Analysis: Experts on the stakes involved for major powers and claimant parties

Read the full three-part special and follow the developments at http://str.sg/Zv2q

Teo Cheng WeeChina CorrespondentIn Tanmen (Hainan)

Chinese fisherman Lin Guanyongknows he has a perilous job work-ing in the South China Sea, and it isnot just the weather.

He was detained once by the Viet-namese authorities in 2001, after heand his 20 crewmates were arrest-ed and charged with illegal fishingin Vietnam’s waters.

Their boat was towed to a port inVietnam, where they stayed onboard, while another boat was sentback to China to get the US$2,500(S$3,400) needed to pay their fine.They were released after twoweeks.

“We get harassed all the time bythe Vietnamese coast guard,” MrLin, 40, told The Straits Times.

“If they didn’t arrest us, theywould have boarded our boat, takenall our fish and whatever else theyfancied.”

And in a rare move last week, Viet-nam reportedly seized a Chineseship that its captain said was carry-ing fuel for fishing boats.

Clashes between coast guardsand fishermen from different coun-tries increasingly make the news.While Mr Lin admitted that he hadcrossed into foreign waters, he saidfishermen from other countries of-ten entered Chinese waters as well.Soon after their detention, he andhis crew were back fishing in thesame areas.

So he is glad that China’s coastguard is building up its fleet to bet-ter protect its fishermen, who are of-ten caught up in territorial disputes

in the South China Sea as they ven-ture further out with the thinningof stocks nearer to shore.

“My heart aches whenever I hearnews that a Chinese fisherman hasbeen arrested or hurt,” said fisher-men Mo Taifu, 60, who, like Mr Lin,is based in the fishing town of Tan-men, on the east coast of Hainan is-land, China’s southernmost prov-ince.

While China’s fishermen hailfrom many coastal provinces, in-cluding Zhejiang, Guangdong andGuangxi, those from Tanmen areamong the most politically impor-tant for the country because theyhave been fishing for generationsnear the Spratlys.

“Their fishing activities andrecords are one of the main piecesof evidence for China’s historicalclaims in the South China Sea,” not-ed associate research fellow ZhangHongzhou from the S. RajaratnamSchool of International Studies(RSIS), an expert on China’s fishingindustry and maritime security.

Some of Tanmen’s fishermen areactively involved in territorial tus-sles. In a stand-off two years agowith Vietnam over China’s position-ing of an oil rig near the disputed Pa-racel Islands, both countries en-couraged their fishing fleets to en-ter the area to disrupt each other’splans. Many Chinese boats whichdid were from Tanmen.

Tanmen’s political importancewas further underscored by a histor-ic visit in 2013 from President Xi Jin-ping, who urged fishermen to sup-port the government’s island con-structions in the South China Sea,adding that the authorities wouldprotect them.

For years, the fishermen have al-ready been helping to deliver sup-plies and maintain their presencein China’s Spratly outposts. Mr Linjoined one such effort in 2012.

“The government paid the boatowner 180,000 yuan (S$37,500) to

go to the Spratlys,” he said. “Wewere there for two weeks. Theydidn’t care whether we fished ornot, they just wanted us there.”

But the fishermen say they alsoneed to venture further now be-cause stocks nearer shore are beingdepleted to satisfy demand fromthe world’s biggest seafood consum-

er. China’s fishery production hasrisen dramatically – from five mil-lion tonnes in 1978 to 64.6 milliontonnes in 2014.

Fishermen interviewed by TheStraits Times said they head out tothe South China Sea for increasing-ly rare fish like the golden threadfinbream, whose wholesale prices

have doubled from 30 to 60 yuanper kg in the past five years.

As such, retired fisherman LiHuabo, 70, feels it is “ridiculous”that other countries want to denythem their fishing rights. He beganfishing when he was a teenager,and both his father and grandfatherfished in the Spratlys.

“We fished in these seas way be-fore others,” he said. “How can theystop us?”

Similarly for Mr Shi Yingbo, 60,fishing runs in the family.

He said his father was oncecaught by the Malaysian authoritiesin the 1980s. They wanted him tosign papers admitting that he had

trespassed into foreign waters.“He said even if they beat him to

death, he would not sign the pa-pers. I would do the same if I werein his shoes,” said Mr Shi, whose fa-ther was released after being de-tained for three months.

But while protecting what manyTanmen fishermen call their “ances-

tral seas” is important, they are ulti-mately most concerned about theirlivelihoods, and are not merely pas-sive actors following governmentorders, noted Mr Zhang from RSISin Singapore.

“The fisherman don’t want war inthe South China Sea as they will beprevented from fishing and their

lives will be threatened,” he said.In fact, fishing is an increasingly

difficult livelihood, said fishermanWang Jingming, 28, as the develop-ment of China’s farmed fish sectorputs the squeeze on prices of somespecies. Stricter enforcement ofbans on certain seafood items, in-cluding the lucrative giant clam, is

adding to their woes.“We had some government offi-

cials come to teach us how to im-prove our fishing technologies toimprove our efficiency,” said MrWang. “But our margins are thinnerthan before.”

He added that this is whyTanmen’s fishermen still depend

on fuel subsidies from the govern-ment.

“I’m uneducated, that’s why I’m afisherman,” said Mr Lin, a father ofthree. “I’ll do this for another 10 or20 years, but I hope my childrendon’t follow in my footsteps.”

chengwee@sph.com.sg

Boom time for fishing village at the forefront of China’s efforts to protect its ‘ancestral sea’

TANMEN (Hainan) • There are tworoads that visitors can take to thefishing town of Tanmen. Whichev-er they choose, they will be greet-ed by the large, beaming face ofPresident Xi Jinping.

“Since ancient times, the SouthChina Sea has been China’s territo-ry. You function as the front-lineguards of maritime sovereignty,”said the giant billboard at one en-trance, quoting Mr Xi.

Another billboard at the oppo-site end of town has him flankedby dozens of smiling local fisher-men, dated April 8, 2013.

That was the day China’s mostpowerful man paid a historic visitto Tanmen. For a tiny coastal townin Hainan province with just

31,000 residents, it was a big deal.The purpose of Mr Xi’s visit was

political, coming soon after hetook power, with tensions risingover territorial disputes in theSouth China Sea.

Tanmen’s fishermen are impor-tant to China’s sovereignty battle,with their traditional fishing activi-ties key to the country’s historicalclaim to the waters.

But residents more keenly feltMr Xi’s economic impact. “Tan-men gained national prominenceafter Mr Xi came. We got manytimes more visitors,” said handi-craft shop assistant Li Xiadan, 23.

This coincided with the rise inpopularity of giant clam handi-crafts, which Tanmen specialises

in. From 2012 to last year , thenumber of such handicraft retail-ers rocketed from 15 to 460, draw-ing people from out of town towork in the industry.

The town got a facelift in the pro-cess. Roads were paved, pave-ments laid and beaches cleanedup. In 2014, the town even got itsown cultural centre.

Besides displaying antiquitiesfound at sea, the centre builds onthe theme of Mr Xi’s billboards,prominently displaying accountsof Tanmen’s fishermen refusing toyield to the authorities from otherclaimant countries.

“The resolute, fearless spirit ofTanmen’s fishermen have safe-guarded China’s sovereignty in

the South China Sea and defendedthe country’s dignity,” said onecaption below a picture of a fisher-man. “They are the pride of theSouth China Sea and undisputedheroes of the masses!”

The central government beganwork last November on a“world-class” one billion yuan(S$208.7 million) South China Seamuseum in Tanmen, set to opennext year .

“People used to just come herefor cheap seafood,” said Hei-longjiang tourist Li Ying, 64. “Thisis China’s gateway to the SouthChina Sea. It’s good to see Tanmendo well.”

Teo Cheng Wee

In the last of a three-part series, The Straits Times focuseson the unlikely foot soldiers in Beijing’s controversialmove to lay claim to the South China Sea.

Giant clam handicraft products on display. A speciality of Tanmen, they are alsothe village’s lucrative claim to fame.

China’sFRONT-LINEFISHERMEN

A billboard highlighting President Xi's visit to Tanmen at one of the town entrances.His visit coincided with a development boom in the once-sleepy village.

Mr Lin Guanyong (top) was once detained by the Vietnamese authorities while fishing in the Paracels. Fishermen unload-ing their harvest (above) at Tanmen fishing port in Hainan province. PHOTOS: TEO CHENG WEE, CHINAFOTOPRESS

Fishing vessels setting off from the port of Sanya in Hainan. While China’s fishermen hail from many coastal provinces, including Guangdong, those from Tanmen inHainan are some of the most politically important because they have been fishing for generations near the Spratlys. PHOTO: CHINAFOTOPRESS

Next to Tanmen's cultural centre are four old wooden fishing boats that were convertedinto guest rooms, commanding 300 to 500 yuan a night. ST PHOTOS: TEO CHENG WEE

CHINA

Hainan

South China Sea

Tanmen

STRAITS TIMES GRAPHICS

VIETNAM

A picture of a fisherman in the Tanmen cultural centre. The caption praisesTanmen’s fishermen for protecting China’s sovereignty at sea.

Mr Shi Yingbo has been fishing in the Spratlys for years, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather.ST PHOTO: TEO CHENG WEE

SPECIAL REPORTA14 | THE STRAITS TIMES | TUESDAY, APRIL 5, 2016 | | TUESDAY, APRIL 5, 2016 | THE STRAITS TIMES | A15