Philippines jails 12 Chinese fishermen

After 12 Chinese fishermen were sentenced to six to 12 years in jail for illegal fishing by a Philippines court on Tuesday, a Chinese expert slammed the ruling and called it a provocative act by the Philippines.

Eleven were sentenced to six to 10 years in jail, while the captain was sentenced to the maximum 12 years.

They were also fined $100,000 each and their boat was confiscated.

Zhuang Guotu, head of the Center of Southeast Asian Studies in Xiamen University, Fujian Province, said Tuesday that damaging the reef does not constitute a violation of the anti-poaching law.

"It was a provocative act for the Philippines to detain and sentence Chinese fishermen," said Zhuang.

The fishermen were accused of running into and severely damaging the Tubbataha Reef in April 2013, in violation of anti-poaching legislation.

The reef was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1993.

"The fishermen were innocent and they were forced to enter Philippine territory by bad weather," a lawyer from the Public Attorney's Office representing the fishermen said, adding he would appeal the verdict.

Boat captain Liu Chiangjie and his crew had pleaded not guilty, telling Palawan Regional Trial Court in the western city of Puerto Princesa that they had merely got lost, AFP reported.

The fishermen were arrested on the suspicion of "catching fish on the sea of the Philippines" in April 2013. Philippines coast guard claimed that the boat was stranded near the water area of Tubbataha Reef on April 8, 2013.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said after the arrests that the government attached great importance to the safety of Chinese fishermen abroad, and asked them to abide by local laws.

The 12 are the first foreigners to be sentenced for violating anti-poaching provisions of the law that gave the reef its protected status in 2009.

The fishermen were also accused of "possessing protected species," and could additionally be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison if convicted under violations of Philippines wildlife law.

The Philippines coast guard said that the fishermen were in possession of hundreds of dead and frozen pangolins in the boat. Pangolins are widely hunted in Asia for their meat, skin and scales, but are under international protection.