Footage obtained from a reliable source by Yuyuantantian, a media outlet affiliated with China Media Group, has exposed a fleet of dozens of Philippine boats engaging in performative fishing activities in China's territorial waters near Huangyan Dao in the South China Sea.
The video, shot on Oct 8, shows the Philippine boats, upon arriving near Huangyan Dao and Xianbin Jiao, did not engage in fishing activities but instead lingered idly, with fishing rods and clothes hanging on the decks of some vessels.
According to the source, these so-called fishermen, who are not local to the area, were solicited from elsewhere in the Philippines and guided to the area by Philippine government vessels.
Their activities also did not align with established deep-sea fishing patterns around Huangyan Dao. Genuine deep-sea operations are long-term and typically rely on night fishing to attract fish, while the Philippine side's activity took place only in daytime, according to the source.
Far from conducting fishing, the operation appears to be a publicity stunt orchestrated for media attention, said Yuyuantantian.
Video captures performative fishing activities by Philippine boats in South China Sea
Video captures performative fishing activities by Philippine boats in South China Sea
Video captures performative fishing activities by Philippine boats in South China Sea
The Chinese mainland markets experienced a cautious session on Monday, influenced by diplomatic tensions with Japan and mixed reactions to U.S. reassurances about a potential rare earth deal, said a market analyst.
Chinese stocks closed lower on Monday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 0.46 percent to 3,972.03 points.
The Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.11 percent lower at 13,202 points.
Timothy Pope, a market analyst for China Global Television Network (CGTN), highlighted the trend behind the numbers in his recap of China's stock market performance.
"The Chinese mainland markets had a bit of an off session today with the Shanghai Composite Index sinking about half of one percent. There was an overall sense of caution. We saw some diplomatic tensions flaring between China and Japan the weekend over a speech the new Japanese Prime Minister made in parliament. And investors took the opportunity to lock in some profits after that. So shares with exposure to Japan were the biggest losers, but even recent winners like the rare earth sector were pretty flat today. And that was even though the U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying that there will hopeful be a China-U.S. deal on the rare earths by the end of the month. Perhaps using the word "hopefully" undermined his own attempt at optimism," he said.
"In Shenzhen we did see losses offset by gains among AI and EV firms. Investors still see solid growth potential there. Today was another one of those days which has kept the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets range bound this month, still unable to find really firm footing above 4000 points. But what we have seen is continued strong interest from foreign buyers who are looking for exposure to Chinese equities, especially in the emerging sectors where Chinese companies either lead the world, or rival big US or European names like in EVs and AI," said Pope.
"According to recent data from the Institute of International Finance, from January to October, 50.6 billion U.S. dollars of offshore money flowed into Chinese equities. That's not quite a record -- 2021 is still the best full year on record with more than 73 billion dollars flooding in, but when you consider that that was followed by three very lean years -- last year's total was just 11.4 billion -- the numbers so far this year look very strong, and China's stocks are still trading at a discount compared to the rest of the world," said the analyst.
China markets dip as investors lock in profits amid cautious Monday trading: analyst
