Taiwan can respond to assassination of unarmed fisherman by the Philippines

[sdjd2013]

yeah, I guess you guys sleep on the real issues , but vibrant on personal attacks

how do you expect the world community to respect Filipinos?

you keep making irrelevant statements disguised under the topic, no wonder you only got 5 thanks out of 42 posts, smart guy

let me rephrase the only important question in this thread:

1) Was it self-defense?

 

[sdjd2013]

from all the comments made by the Philippine nationals in the forums I have attended within the last three days have proven to me, without a doubt, that most, if not all, Filipinos are incapable of reason and logic, and therefore it is useless to argue or reason with them. Either that, or the smart ones don't have time to show up in forums. I am still hopeful the leaders of the Philippines have the wisdom to see the big picture and all the mechanics at work here. Short of that, I say **** the Philippines and Ma should just stake out the unilateral EEZ demarcation with military force. Peace out.

 

[Snomannen]

Hahaha this guy dont get the LOGIC

HK, TW, MACAU are very different from CHINA, they dont even want to be labelled "from CHINA" lol

A true hong konger would get what I am saying. tee hee.



Once more, keep dreaming!

Scottish are very different from English, but they are both people of Britian.
Ryukyu people are very different from "mainland Japaese", they are both Japanese and Ryukyu is part of Japan with no doubt.
Even you are killing your so-called brothers from the south, both of you people are all Pinoys.
I am a Macau and Hong Kong citizen, I am fine to be labeled as Chinese and people from China. What are you then, the Emperor of Macau and Hong Kong? You a outsider dare to judge and point around who is 'true' or not? You are the one who is acting extremely arrogant and doesn't make a sense of logic in your brain.

 

[WuMaoCleverbot]

yeah, I guess you guys sleep on the real issues , but vibrant on personal attacks

how do you expect the world community to respect Filipinos?

you keep making irrelevant statements disguised under the topic, no wonder you only got 5 thanks out of 42 posts, smart guy

let me rephrase the only important question in this thread:

1) Was it self-defense?

You're just like a broken recorder, your question has been answered numerous times already...you just have to backread. The answer is YES. Our Philippine coast guard fired in self defense when the Taiwanese fishing boat tried to ram our ship. You have to use your common sense...why is there only 52 bullet holes if the intention of our Philippine CG is to kill...we have the capability not only to kill all those onboard the Taiwanese fishing vessels...but to sink it as well. How many hours did our Philippine coast guard ship had been chasing the Taiwanese fishing boats??? During those hours...how many bullets could have we fired if our intention is to kill??? Thousands of bullets would have riddled those boats and they would sink due to bullet holes.

Read this:

PCG describes Balintang Channel incident - 'like a scene from an action movie'
By Leonard D. Postrado
Published: May 16, 2013

The way the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) described the May 9 shooting of Taiwanese fishermen off the coast of Balintang island was like telling a scene out of an action movie: a government vessel precariously dodging two fishing boats that tried to sink the law enforcer's ship as they engaged the bad guys in a high seas chase.

A three-page, incident report of the PCG that was obtained by the Manila Bulletin from a PCG insider showed how the Taiwanese fishermen violently and dangerously tried to evade their arrest after they were caught poaching at the sea located some 39 nautical miles off Bantayan Island.

The report, which was corroborated by a video on the maritime incident in Balintang Channel last May 9 that resulted to the death of a 65-year-old Taiwanese fisherman, was among the documents submitted by the PCG to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) since the bureau commenced its investigation on Wednesday.

“One of the Taiwanese vessel maneuvered to ramp our starboard bow. This unit executed reverse [gear] to avoid collision,” said the PCG report.

Based on the report, the MCS-3001, a 35-meter vessel jointly manned by the Coast Guard and personnel from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), set sail in the northern part of Batanes last May 8, 2013, to conduct seaborne patrol and monitoring control and surveillance against illegal fishing.

The following day, the PCG-BFAR spotted several radio beacon with two floating buoy markers some 39 nautical miles, east of Balintang Islands. They suspected that the buoys were long lines of Taiwanese fishing vessels. Soon after spotting the buoys, the PCG-BFAR was able to find the location of the Taiwanese fishing boats.

They claimed that the Taiwanese fishermen had resisted to stop from their tracks while local sea authorities repeatedly fired warning shots in mid-air and blared their vessel's horn at the foreigners.

“While on meeting situation, this unit then sounded warning through PA system and blow horn for the Taiwanese fishing vessel to stop for the conduct of fishing.. [The PCG] fired warning shots to alert the fishing vessel until the fishing vessel stopped and one of the crew of the fishing vesseel went outside,” the PCG said.

But when the MCS-3001 vessel of PCG-BFAR was almost alongside of one of the fishing boat named Guang Ta Hsin-28, the PCG claimed that the engine of the Taiwanese vessel whirred to life, and the boat manuevered backward before speeding forward and it almost collided with the government ship's stern.

The patient Philippine authorities fired another round of warning shots but the Taiwanese vessel resisted to stop and engaged the PCG-BFAR in a high-speed sea chase. As a result, the commanding officer of the MCS-3001 ordered to open fire at Guang Ta Hsin-28 to disable its engine but accidentally killed Taiwanese fisherman named Hung Shih-cheng.

“To stop the fishing vessel, this unit announced to fire for effects the engine side section of said Taiwanese fishing vessel to immobilize her [boat] and stop her [boat] engine,” the report said.

While chasing after Guang Ta Hsin, the PCG-BFAR spotted at least two, new unidentified boats - one white and one gray – and this prompt them to disengage from their chase and leave as they were already outnumbered.

PCG describes Balintang Channel incident - 'like a scene from an action movie'

 

[Malaya]

Gawd enough of this apology. The apology was already given but Taiwan rejects it and will still impose sanctions. That is their choice and problem. The Philippines has been diplomatic but should not be too nice when we are already being bullied.

 

[Malaya]

Sanctions on OFWs will not affect Philippine economy
Asia Published on Thursday, 16 May 2013

Senior Filipino officials believe that the recent sanctions imposed by Taiwan will not have any significant impact on the Philippine economy. Taiwan has imposed a hiring freeze against overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) after a fisherman Hung Shih-cheng was killed in disputed waters.

“Imposing economic sanctions on the Philippines might not necessarily be in Taiwan's favor, and the Philippine economy might not be hurt as much as we expect,” Taiwan News quoted Gordon Sun, director of a macroeconomic forecasting center.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz says there are only around 2,500 Filipinos deployed monthly [to Taiwan] hence imposing sanctions like the OFWs back home would do more harm to Taiwan’s economy than to the Philippines.

Baldoz confirmed that around 85,000 OFWs are working in Taiwan, a mere 0.0085 percent of the estimated 10 million Filipino workers around the world. She said eliminating Filipino workers could have an adverse affect on Taiwan's economy.

“I don't think this will be very significant economically. Investments or trade could be delayed, but that's just it. This is not something we will lose sleep about,” agreed University of Asia and the Pacific senior economist Victor Abola.

“What is happening now is a political reaction of the Taiwanese government… It's an issue that will stay as long as there will be political clamor for it. Businesswise, Taiwanese traders and businessmen have long kept relationships with other countries which their government has locked horns with. A lot of them still do business in China,” Abola added.


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Taiwanese President is an opportunist. They are over-reacting and very demanding.

We've gone an extra mile for them and that is enough.

The Philippines has done enough.

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Palace: PH went the 'extra mile' on Taiwan

by Willard Cheng, ABS-CBN News
Posted at 05/16/2013

Says sanctions would hurt Taiwan too

MANILA - Malacañang said the Philippines “has gone the extra mile” in responding to the demands of Taiwan following the death of a Taiwanese fisherman, including sending a personal representative of President Aquino to convey his and the Filipino people’s expression of regret and apology.

“We did what a decent member, a respectable member of the international community, should have done. And we did it. We have gone the extra mile. The President has sent a personal representative to extend his apology to the family of Mr. Hung Shi-chen. We have acted uprightly and decently as a respectable member of the international community,” Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said.

Lacierda said the Philippine government has prepared a contingency plan to deal with the sanctions imposed by Taiwan. At the same time, the Palace pointed out that the sanctions would not do both sides good.

Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda cited the red alert imposed by Taiwan on travel to the Philippines as an example to show that the sanction will also hurt Taiwanese airline companies.

“We have already prepared for the contingencies. A ban on travel will not only hurt us, it will hurt both countries. It does not do anyone any good. A travel from their end will be affected as well. Their airlines will be affected. So does it help both countries if you do a travel ban?” Lacierda said.

Lacierda declined to elaborate on the contingency plan.

He dismissed statements that the Philippines violated international law, reiterating that incident happened in Philippine waters.

“Our Coast Guard has already mentioned that the incident happened within our exclusive economic zone and we have no dispute to that effect. Based on our statement previously and based on the statement of chairman Perez, we certainly regret the loss of life and we apologize for the unfortunate and unintended loss—but let me emphasize—in the course of a fisheries law enforcement operation within our waters,” Lacierda said.

The Palace declined to comment on observations that the Taiwanese government may just be exploiting the issue for political reasons especially since Taiwan president Ma Ying-jeou’s is suffering from low approval ratings. Lacierda said it is for the public to judge if it is indeed so.

'DON'T HURT OFWs'

Meantime, the Palace appealed to the people of Taiwan not to vent their anger at Filipinos there amid reports that overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are being harassed.

Lacierda trusts that these are isolated incidents.

“Ito pong ginagawa ng iilang Taiwanese, naniniwala kami na ito po ay isolated incidents lang po. Hindi po ito kagagawan po ng sambayanang Taiwan. Naniniwala kami at nirerespto namin ang ating mga kaibigan na nasa Taiwan. But let me also again appeal to them, to the Taiwnaese people, to refrain from hurting or making our Filipino compatriots there as instrument of their anger. It does not sit well with anyone… We would expect that they will be treated decently as we do treat their Taiwanese nationals here decently,” Lacierda said.

PEREZ’s STATEMENT

The Palace belied reports that Taiwanese officials snubbed the President’s representative. Lacierda said that MECO chair Amadeo Perez was able to meet with Director-General Benjamin Ho of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs.

Lacierda read the following statement of Perez issued in Taiwan before he left for the Philippines:

“In my capacity as the designated personal representative of President Benigno S. Aquino III, I came to convey the President’s and the Filipino people’s deep regret and apology over the unfortunate and unintended loss of life in the course of a fisheries law enforcement operation on 09 May 2013 by a Philippine Coast Guard/Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources maritime patrol in waters in the northern Philippines.

“I also came to convey our readiness to give financial assistance to the family of Mr. Hung as a token of solidarity and as an expression of sympathy by the Filipino people for the demise of Mr. Hung.

“Upon orders from the President, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has already initiated the investigation and is committed to a thorough, exhaustive, impartial and expeditious investigation of the incident. The NBI has given this case the highest priority.

“I am grateful for the meeting with Director-General Benjamin Ho of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs last night. We understand the grief and hurt of the family and of the people of Taiwan over this unfortunate loss and we wish to reaffirm the high regard and respect of the people of the Philippines for the people of Taiwan.”

NO JOINT INVESTIGATION

Asked about reports that Taiwanese investigators have flown to Manila to conduct a probe into the incident, Lacierda said the Philippine government was not made aware of Taiwan’s plan and that there are protocols to go through under a mutual legal assistance arrangement.

Palace: PH went the 'extra mile' on Taiwan | ABS-CBN News

 

[Malaya]

US lauds PH for expression of regret over Taiwan incident
By Tarra Quismundo
Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines — The United States is optimistic that the Philippines and Taiwan will eventually thresh out their current spat over the shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman within the Philippine territorial waters last week, an incident that has prompted an angry Taipei to impose sanctions against Manila.

Calling both the Philippines and Taiwan “friends” of the US, American Ambassador to the Philippines Harry Thomas Jr. expressed confidence that the two sides will eventually iron out the rough patch as he lauded the Philippines for apologizing for the incident.

“Both the Philippines and Taiwan are long-standing friends of the US. The Philippines is a strategic ally of the US. Taiwan is a partner. And, as in all cases, we know that these things will be resolved through negotiations,” Thomas told reporters Thursday.

“We applaud President Aquino and his government’s expression of regret over this incident [and] the fact that they’ve agreed to an investigation… We’re glad that they’re gonna work these things out as democracies do,” Thomas said on the sidelines of a reception of US agencies for local partners at a new annex facility inside the US Embassy compound in Manila.

Earlier this week, Washington expressed concern over the shooting, an incident that has roiled ties between the Philippines and Taiwan.

The two sides lay their respective stakes on territories in the already tense West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

Taiwan has halted the hiring of Filipinos, issued a travel advisory and held military drills near Philippine maritime borders in continuing protest of last week’s shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

The PCG has admitted to the shooting but explained that patrolling officers fired on the Taiwanese fishing vessel as it had encroached into Philippine territorial waters and threatened to ram their boat.

US State Department spokesperson Patrick Ventrell on Wednesday called on both sides “to take all appropriate measures to clarify disagreements and prevent recurrence of such tragic events.”

The US has long been watchful of the situation in Asia-Pacific waters, with such sea lanes important in both its trade and defense interests.

International law expert Harry Roque, chairman of the Center for International Law, meanwhile said it was just rightful for the Philippines to apologize for the shooting as the sea death was an “internationally wrongful act.”

He said the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, an international pact prescribing rules on conduct in the high seas, “prohibits the unnecessary use of force in dealing with illegal fishermen.”

“Bereft of evidence that our Coast Guard acted in self-defense, our coast guards’ shooting of the lone fisherman is an internationally wrongful act for which we should apologize and pay compensation,” said Roque.

He, however, cautioned the government against giving into Taiwan’s demands, citing the country’s standing one-China policy.
As earlier stated by the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Manila Economic and Cultural Office under the Office of the President is in charge of “all Taiwan matters.”

“Because our apology was belated, Taiwan is now exploiting the situation. We must not fall for the trap and uphold the one-China policy,” said Roque.

“Taiwan is not a state. It’s part of China. We hence should not enter into a fishery agreement as demanded by Taiwan as part of the settlement for the incident. A fishing agreement, if any, should be with China,” added the lawyer.

 

[Malaya]

PH not threatened by Taiwan drills
By Madel Sabater – Namit
Published: May 17, 2013

Malacañang on Friday said the military drills conducted by Taiwan should not be a cause for concern as long as it is done in international waters.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the Philippine government is not threatened by Taiwan’s military drills.

“As a matter of rule, as long as the activity is within their borders or in the high seas, then it should not be a concern for us,” Valte said.

The Taiwanese government has conducted military exercises in the waters between Taiwan and the Philippines following the killing of a Taiwanese fisherman in the Balintang Channel.

It will be recalled that China also conducted military exercises near the Philippines but the Palace had said it is not a threat as long as the Philippines’ maritime zones are respected.

Valte meanwhile said the proposal to send former President Fidel V. Ramos to Taiwan to de-escalate tensions between Taiwan and the Philippines will be discussed with President Aquino.

It was former chairman of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Foreign Affairs Apolinario Lozada Jr. who proposed that President Aquino should send the former President to apologize to Taiwan.

“That is something that we will have to discuss to the President,” Valte said.

She also said the Palace would not wish to make statements that would further escalate tensions between Taiwan and the Philippines even as China expressed rage over the incident.

“At this point, what we are after, really, is to look at what we will do in light of the sanctions perhaps not for discussion at this point, again, avoiding escalation,” Valte said.

“Our primary concern would be for the welfare of the citizens over there and second, the possible effects the sanctions may have on our OFWs who are there,” she said.

Valte also reiterated that the Philippine government has not approved any joint investigation with Taiwanese investigators on the incident in Balintang Channel. The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has already started the investigation on the incident.

“There is a particular process that should be followed and the process should be followed,” she said.

“As to the timeline, the Secretary of Justice did not give a particular timeline but she did assure that the NBI will be giving the highest priority to the investigation that is being conducted,” Valte said.

“That being said, we at this point, do not wish to talk about the details given that the investigation is ongoing and we would like to wait for the final report,” she added.

PH not threatened by Taiwan drills

 

[Malaya]

Philippine sanctions to impact Taiwan: minister

By John Liu, The China Post
May 17, 2013 12:18 am TWN

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- The Executive Yuan rolled out economic sanctions against the Philippines, which Economic Affairs Minister Chang Chia-juch (張家&#31069 said will not affect Taiwan's economy in the short term, though the nation's imports and exports will take a hit in the long run.

Unsatisfied with the Philippine government's response to the Kuang Ta Hsing No. 28 (廣大興28&#34399 incident, the Executive Yuan initiated the second-wave of economic sanctions against the Philippines.

Taiwan plans to withhold any promotional activities aimed at increasing bilateral trade. The government will withhold official and nonofficial exhibitions, business solicitation activities, business invitations, all meetings and technology exchange, etc. Local businesses have expressed willingness to cooperate with the government to cease trading with the Philippines and conduct business with other countries instead.

According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, economic sanction measures rolled out include postponing or temporarily ending bilateral economic and trade exchanges, delaying or withholding business promotions, not encouraging Taiwanese businesses to make investments in the Philippines, delaying invitations to Philippine officials to visit Taiwan, as well as postponing the Taiwan External Trade Development Council's plan to set up a Taiwan trade center in Manila.

There is a close relationship between Taiwan and the Philippines in terms of trade, Chang said, with total trade nearing US$11 billion. Taiwan's exports to the Philippines amounted to $US8.87 billion in 2012, while Taiwan's imports from the Philippines amounted to US$2.1 billion, giving Taiwan a trade surplus of US$$6.77 billion.

Chang Chia-juch said in the Legislative Yuan yesterday that the ministry cannot predict the scale of impact on Taiwan in terms of a dollar amount. He said however, that withholding promotional activities that aim to increase bilateral business trade will have a direct impact on bilateral trade in the future.

Chang said that since there is only a stoppage of promotional economic activities, while direct trading between the two countries still continues, the ministry is unable to estimate the exact impact at this time. Chang is sure, however, that direct trade between the two countries will be affected in the long run.

“We cannot predict the actual loss at this time, but direct trade between the two countries will be affected. Without promotions, there will less need, affecting exports and imports. Bilateral trade between the two countries has not stopped, in accordance with WTO regulations,” Chang said.

Economic Planning and Development Minister Kuan Chung-ming (管中&#38292 said although trade between Taiwan and the Philippines is only a small portion of Taiwan's overall economy, a stoppage on economic promotional activities will affect trade expansion.

Philippine sanctions to impact Taiwan: minister - The China Post

 

[3310]

People to people relations wont be affected. Chinese schools here in the philippines are usually run by taiwanese leaning citizens. I remember taiwan's 10/10 celebrations here. Playing taiwan's national anthem? you don't see that often. It's very rare to see simplified chinese characters here. A picture of Dr. Sun Yat Sen's image can also be seen side by side with Dr. Jose Rizal's.

 

[Fsjal]

Gawd enough of this apology. The apology was already given but Taiwan rejects it and will still impose sanctions. That is their choice and problem. The Philippines has been diplomatic but should not be too nice when we are already being bullied.

"being bullied"

More like bullying Taiwan

 

[bdslph]

maybe they thought it was Chinese fisherman
but it is sad what has happened it shouldn't have

taiwan is angry as last time it was the bus incident and now this one

may be the guy who was in the sea was trigger happy , so it should be joint investigation and the person who did it should also face law

this kind of bullying or angry will not work China will exploit this situation

 

[Malaya]

"being bullied"

More like bullying Taiwan

Yes and I hope the Philippines will not give in to this bullying maneuver of this Chinese province.

(To all Filipinos: Beware pala sa Chinese poster na'to na nagpapanggap na Pilipino.)

 

[sdjd2013]

Yes and I hope the Philippines will not give in to this bullying maneuver of this Chinese province.

(To all Filipinos: Beware pala sa Chinese poster na'to na nagpapanggap na Pilipino.)

excuse me, it was an unarmed Taiwanese fisherman who was chased down and killed by Filipino soldiers?!!?? who is the bully?? You guys are un ******* believable.

 

[canadian icehole]

Taipei-Manila Row: Incident does not surprise a veteran captain once detained in Philippines

Watching TV news reports about the ongoing diplomatic row between Taiwan and the Philippines, veteran seafarer Chang Chang-lung (張昌&#38534 said he was not at all surprised.

“The trouble is due to the problem of overlapping maritime jurisdictions. If the issue is not resolved, tragedies such as this will occur again,” said Chang, a seasoned sea captain from Pingtung’s Hengchun Peninsula, who has had three perilous encounters with Philippine marine authorities.

The 58-year-old Chang has been a fisherman since his youth.

He recalled his first encounter with a Philippine vessel in 1991, when his ship sailed to about 20 degrees north latitude, a marine area Pingtung sailors call Toudiapsuan (陶疊&#23665 in Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese).

Chang said a Philippine naval vessel started approaching his ship at high speed, and he turned his ship around to get away.

“However, our boat was too slow. The Philippine vessel then started shooting at us with machine guns. All of us hid inside the boat’s cabin,” Chang said. “When we got back home, we counted more than 30 bullet holes in the boat.”

After that, Chang said he spent more than NT$3 million (US$100,370) to purchase a new fishing boat with a bigger engine.

“However, in 1997, in the same stretch of water, we were chased by Philippine naval ships and pursued by a military helicopter. Luckily we managed to escape without much damage [to the boat],” the captain said.

A third encounter came in 2001, which he described as a terrible nightmare for him and his crew.

Chang said they had just started to fish early in the morning and did not notice armed men approaching their boat in sampans. The men came aboard to search the boat.

“They had guns, so we could not put up a fight,” Chang said.

“They had a dynamite stick with them and planted it in our cabin as false evidence. We were accused of fishing illegally using dynamite, even though we have not caught anything yet,” Chang said.

His ship and crew were detained and taken to the port of Aparri, at the northern tip of Luzon Island.

Chang said they were put under house arrest for six months and the Philippine authorities demanded US$100,000 for their release.

They were only released to board a flight “to escape back to Taiwan” after paying NT$600,000 (US$19,960) in bribes to Philippine officials, through the assistance of well-connected Chinese Filipinos, Chang said.

“Along with my confiscated ship and the money spent on bribes during our six months in detention, this ‘accidental journey’ cost me about NT$5 million,” he added.

After hearing of his experience, the fishermen of Hengchun Peninsula were scared and nobody dared go into that stretch of water again, he said.

“Since then, only fishermen from Donggang [東港, another Pingtung port to the northwest of Hengchun] would go there, but they are gambling with their lives,” Chang said.

“The Philippine navy always gives us trouble. They have about 17 islands in that stretch of marine territory and they have five different naval units stationed around there,” he said.

“Even with a signed agreement on fishing around one of the islands, Philippine naval units from the other islands would still give us trouble. Filipino fishermen would report Taiwanese fishing boats’ position to their naval units. It was impossible to safeguard ourselves over there,” Chang added.

He also denounced the behavior of Filipino seamen, which he described as “atrocious.”

"When these navy sailors and officers came aboard our boat, they would loot almost everything we had, from raincoats and videotapes to food, tissues and other materials," Chang said.

"If we were lucky, we were allowed to leave and go home, otherwise they would plant evidence against us and confiscate our boat. They would strip the boat’s engine and all the usable instruments. Then they would demand that we pay a heavy fine," he added.

Chang recalled elderly fishermen advising them to keep about NT$500,000 in cash on board, so if their boat was detained by Philippine seamen, giving them the cash usually could ensure the crew’s safety and the boat’s release.

"However, the overlapping economic exclusion zones of Taiwan and the Philippines are troublesome. If our own government does not take strong action to resolve the matter, Taiwanese fishermen may have to give up this large fishing area. Or else, the Kuang Ta Hsing No. 27 incident will not be the last," Chang said.