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.

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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.”

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