The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will continue to patrol the country's territorial waters to support the Filipino fishermen amid the fishing ban imposed by China.

In a radio interview, Col. Francel Margareth Padilla, AFP spokesperson, said despite the fishing ban imposed by China, the government is not stopping the Filipino fishermen from continuing their fishing activities in the West Philippine Sea.

"In fact we encourage them to continue on with their daily activities and we assure them that we will be supporting them, it is much better if they will have proper information prior, but nonetheless we will still be on patrols 24/7," she said.

"We have contingency plans in place. We have regular patrols that are being done on a daily basis, we also have additional resources that are available and on standby," she added.

Despite the fishing ban imposed by China from May 1 to September 16, 2024, a group of Filipino fishers from Zambales called Pamalakaya announced on Wednesday their plan to conduct fishing activities in Scarborough Shoal.

Joey Marabe, Pamalakaya - Zambales coordinator, said the members of their group who will begin to sail on Thursday afternoon aims to reach the area 20 to 25 nautical miles from Scarborough Shoal. Robina Asido/DMS