Fisheries to acquire 100 new patrol boats

The Philippines is buying nearly 100 new patrol boats to protect its fisheries, an official said Monday, in a substantial expansion from its current fleet of 20 as it responds to poaching by Chinese and Taiwanese vessels. Most of the ordered vessels -- 71 short-range boats for coastal patrols and 27 able to go further out to sea -- will be delivered this year, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources chief Asis Perez said. Tensions have been rising in recent years due to China’s more muscular approach to enforcing its claim to most of the South China Sea, even up to the coasts of its neighbours including the Philippines.