Philippines protests China fishing ban in South China Sea May 18, 2021 11:02 PM PHT The Philippines said on Tuesday, May 18, that it has protested China's imposing a fishing moratorium until August 16 over the South China Sea, asserting it “does not recognize” the ban that included waters under Philippine jurisdiction. In an official statement, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said China’s annual fishing ban extended “far beyond” Beijing’s maritime entitlements afforded to it under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and that “China cannot legally impose nor legally enforce such a moratorium in the West Philippine Sea.”