Warships presence of Taiwan Republic of China would be doubled for fire drill as enemy inside the Philippine territory particularly in the Balintang Channel, near Babuyan Island if the Philippines will not ask public apology. Map from Google
Philippines says sorry to Taiwan
TAIPEI (UPDATED) - The Philippines on Wednesday apologised to Taiwan over the shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman by coastguards last week that sparked public outrage and tensions between Taipei and Manila.
Taiwan foreign minister David Lin told reporters that "the Philippines has voiced deep regret and apology for the incident" after a closed-door meeting with Antonio Basilio, the de facto Philippine ambassador to Taipei.
The Philippine government will send a special envoy to Taiwan to convey his apologies and condolences to the family of 65-year-old fisherman Hung Shih-cheng, who was shot dead on Thursday, Basilio said.
"Chairman (Amadeo) Perez will repeat his deep regret and apology from the people of the Philippines to the people of Taiwan and the family of Mr. Hung for the grief and suffering from his death," Basilio said.
Perez Jr. is chairman of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) that represents the Philippines' interest in Taiwan.
Taiwan had demanded an apology by midnight Tuesday (1600 GMT), saying that otherwise it would conduct a naval drill in waters near the Philippines. It had also threatened to freeze the sending of Philippine workers to the island.
The two sides also agreed to jointly launch an investigation into the incident, that has sparked outrage in Taiwan.
On Monday, hundreds of angry fishermen burned Philippine flags and hurled eggs at Manila's de facto embassy in Taipei.
"The Philippines has made some positive reactions towards our demand," Lin said when asked if his government would still consider sanctions against Manila, adding that the pledges from the Philippine government would need to be further evaluated.
