Chinese patrols disrupt fishing – and gender norms – in contested sea
When Noraida and Ronel Badilla moved to Thitu Island in 2009, life was good. Mr. Badilla fished in the nearby Subi Reef, selling his surplus mackerel, and they received rice rations and free electricity from the Philippine government.
But over the past decade, China has increased its presence in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea and built a military outpost on the reef. The increased patrols have disrupted not only the peace but also family dynamics in Thitu, with more women taking on jobs to make ends meet.
Why we wrote this
A story centered on
In the South China Sea, Chinese patrols are disrupting the livelihoods of Filipino fishing communities – and pushing more women into the workforce.
Today, Ms. Badilla works in a public garden and is vice president of the new association of Strong and Courageous Women of the Spratlys, which plans to open a bakery and souvenir shop. Mr. Badilla, who now occasionally takes on construction work and shares childcare responsibilities, appreciates that his wife puts food on the table.
Jean Encinas-Franco, a feminist international relations professor, sees similar trends emerging across the region. With men no longer able to fish, women are becoming breadwinners, business leaders and advocates for their coastal communities.
While it’s uncertain whether women will maintain these roles in the long term, Dr. Encinas-Franco says it’s encouraging to see women “trying to demonstrate their autonomy (and) reimagine their lives” in times of crisis.
In 2009, Noraida Badilla’s family moved to Thitu Island, a remote island about 300 nautical miles from Puerto Princesa, Palawan, in the Philippines. They were lured by the promise of government assistance, including free rice rations, school supplies and electricity. In the meantime, her husband could fish in the turquoise waters and sell his excess catch.
The couple built a simple but spacious home on a stretch of white sand, hanging a small Philippine flag from an electrical wire on the soft pink wall. “Life was good back then,” says the mother of three.
But in recent years, China’s incursions into the South China Sea have disrupted the peace in Thitu, known locally as Pag-asa (meaning “hope”), affecting not only the Badillas’ livelihoods but also their family dynamics. As China increases its patrols on a nearby reef, depriving local women of aquatic resources, local women like Ms. Badilla are being forced to abandon traditional gender roles and find work to make ends meet.
Why we wrote this
A story centered on
In the South China Sea, Chinese patrols are disrupting the livelihoods of Filipino fishing communities – and pushing more women into the workforce.
Jean Encinas-Franco, who teaches feminist international relations at the University of the Philippines Diliman, sees similar trends emerging across the region. With men no longer able to fish, women are becoming breadwinners, business leaders and advocates for their coastal communities.
While it’s uncertain whether women will maintain these roles in the long term, Dr. Encinas-Franco says it’s encouraging to see women “trying to demonstrate their autonomy (and) reimagine their lives” in times of crisis.
A fisherman works in the waters off Thitu Island on March 8, 2024. Until China eases its patrols around nearby Subi Reef, fishermen must stay close to shore, where fish are scarce.
Overlapping claims
Thitu Island, occupied by Philippine forces since the 1970s, is one of several islands, islets, reefs and shoals located in the disputed Spratly archipelago in the South China Sea.
While the Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei each claim parts of the South China Sea, China claims sovereignty over nearly the entire region, including areas—like the Spratly Islands—that lie partly within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. Although a United Nations tribunal rejected China’s claims in 2016, Beijing has dramatically expanded its presence in the Spratly Islands, deploying coast guard vessels and building thousands of hectares of artificial islands over the past decade.
Tensions escalated last month when a clash at Second Thomas Shoal, located halfway between Thitu and the main island of Palawan, injured a Filipino sailor and damaged Philippine boats. The incident sparked renewed peace talks between the two countries, which Philippine officials described as “frank and constructive.”
Another hotspot, Subi Reef, lies even closer to Thitu.
China occupied the reef in 1988 and has since developed a major military outpost atop the atoll. Locals say the reef is easy to spot when the ocean is calm and the lights of Chinese military installations flicker brightly at night. But until China scales back its patrols, fishermen like Ronel Badilla, Ms. Badilla’s husband, must stay close to shore, where fish are scarce.
“Before, you could catch five pieces of tanigue (mackerel). Now it’s hard to catch even one piece,” he said.
A fishing boat is moored on Thitu Island, where women have found work to manage fishing disruptions caused by Chinese patrols.
According to Louie Cascara, the city administrator, food packages are available to help families cope with the fishing season. But Badilla said she couldn’t sit back and wait. Last summer, she found contract work with the city government. She and other women are paid about $140 a month to grow vegetables in the legislative department’s garden.
The Badillas rely partly on this income to support their eldest daughter, 17, and their parents, all of whom live on the mainland. “I am happy to be able to help them,” Badilla says.
She does not see herself as the breadwinner, but rather acknowledges her husband’s contribution to the family, however meager it may sometimes be.
For his part, Mr. Badilla says he doesn’t mind his wife putting food on the table, but he appreciates it. He sometimes works on construction sites when he can’t sail because of patrols or bad weather, and he takes turns caring for the couple’s younger children.
The expanding women’s sphere
Women have always played a vital, but often invisible, role in Philippine fishing villages. Many of them manage the family finances, care for children, perform other domestic tasks, and sell the fish themselves. Today, however, Thitu women can be seen running gardens, food stalls, community meetings, and even clinics.
With the threat of China looming and financial hardship mounting, some women are feeling more depressed and anxious, says Jocelyn dela Cruz, a nurse who runs the island’s primary health care center with a midwife. But she is pleased to note that so far there have been no serious medical emergencies on the island, which currently has no doctors. Overall, “women here are well cared for,” she says.
Certainly, families face challenges, but the women of Thitu are “really self-reliant,” Cascara says. Last year, the women took sewing classes and other vocational training through the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, a national government agency. Several members of the newly formed Spratly Strong and Courageous Women Association (SSBWA) were in attendance.
A Philippine flag flies over a school under construction on Thitu Island, March 8, 2024. Philippine forces have occupied the island since the 1970s.
The SSBWA will soon open a bakery on the island, in a building provided by the government. “We are just waiting for the equipment and supplies to arrive,” said Badilla, the group’s vice president.
As the island opens up to tourism, SSBWA has proposed a plan to run homestays and a souvenir shop.
The next step, some say, would be to include women in peace negotiations.
“Women’s participation in decision-making should be increased,” says Gettie Sandoval, a law professor at Ateneo de Manila University whose work focuses on gender and security.
If Mrs. Badilla were at this table, her point of view would be clear.
The Philippine government has stopped actively recruiting residents for the 36-hectare island and has cut some of its aid programs for new arrivals as the population nears its peak of 355. But Ms. Badilla’s family are among the lucky few who have reaped the benefits of their early arrival on Thitu, and despite fears of an attack by China on the island, she stands by their decision to stay.
“This island belongs to the Philippines,” she said.
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