Taiwan Republic of China Fishermen rams BFAR Boat in Philippine Water causing Shootout

Philippine Officials said the BFAR MCS 3001 vessel first spotted 4 Taiwanese vessels 164 nautical miles off the southernmost tip of Balintang Channel in Batanes. One of the trawlers tried evasive maneuvers and was about to ram the BFAR boat, causing them to fire at the foreign vessel. 

Shooting at sea: Coast Guard kills Taiwanese fisherman

The Philippine Coast Guard confirmed Friday that a Taiwanese fisherman was killed after the PCG shot at a fishing trawler that tried to ram their boat near Batanes.

The PCG identified the fatality as Hung Shih-Cheng, 65, one of 4 crew members of the Taiwanese fishing vessel "Guang Ta Hsin 28."

Officials said the BFAR MCS 3001 vessel first spotted 4 Taiwanese vessels 164 nautical miles off the southernmost tip of Balintang Channel in Batanes. One of the trawlers tried evasive maneuvers and was about to ram the BFAR boat, causing them to fire at the foreign vessel.

Three crew members on board the Guang Ta Hsin 28 were unharmed.

"They fired at the machinery to disable it... if somebody died, they deserve our sympathy but not an apology," PCG spokesman Commander Armand Balilo told reporters.

PCG Commandant Admiral Rodolfo Isorena has ordered the relief of 11 PCG personnel onboard the vessel during the shooting incident.

Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Director Asis Perez said 2 BFAR personnel on board the vessel were also sacked.

Perez said the Taiwanese vessels were already in Philippine territorial waters when they were spotted by the Coast Guard.

Isorena said the PCG fired warning shots at the much larger fishing trawler when it tried to ram their vessel. The Coast Guard then shot at the trawler's engine, causing it to stop.

He said the PCG withdrew its vessel after another ship arrived in the area.

Taiwan's foreign ministry earlier said that a Taiwanese fishing vessel carrying three Taiwanese and one Indonesian crewman was fired upon early Thursday by a "Philippine government boat".

The incident, some 164 nautical miles off the southernmost tip of Taiwan, left one of the Taiwan crewmen dead.

The ministry did not specify what type of government boat allegedly fired upon the vessel.

The Philippines and Taiwan, along with Brunei, China and Malaysia, have conflicting claims to parts of the South China Sea.

China and Taiwan have been ruled separately since the end of a civil war in 1949, although Beijing claims the island. The Philippines has no diplomatic ties with Taiwan but maintains economic and cultural links.

With a report from ABS-CBN News, Noel Alamar, radio dzMM; and Agence France-Presse

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Taiwan Republic of China condemns PHL attack on fishing boat in disputed water, meets PCG chief

File photo of Taiwanese fishing boats. (AFP/Sam Yeh)

Taiwan Republic of China on Thursday demanded an apology from the Philippine government as it condemned the shooting of a Taiwanese fishing boat by a Philippine vessel in the disputed water of South Taiwan and North of Luzon Islands. At least one fisherman was reported dead in the incident.

A report on Taiwan's Central News Agency said Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the shooting came from an "official Philippine ship."

Earlier, Beijing-based Xinhua News Agency reported on its website Xinhua.net that  a Philippine Navy ship fired upon the fishing vessel in seas south of Taiwan.

Quoting the foreign ministry, the CNA report identified the slain fisherman as Hung Shih-cheng, 65, adding the shooting occurred Thursday morning.

It said the Taiwanese boat "Kuang Ta Hsing No. 28" was some 170 nautical miles off the southern coast of Taiwan at the time, and was seriously damaged.

Aside from an apology, Taiwan demanded that the Philippine government identify those responsible and make compensation for the losses.

The CNA report noted there had been past incidents where Taiwanese fishermen operating in the area were arrested and detained by Philippine authorities.

But it said there had been few reports of shooting.

Quoting Taiwan's representative to the Philippines Raymond Wang, who met with Philippine Coast Guard head Rear Admiral Rodolfo Isorena, the Philippines found one of its ships shot the Taiwanese fishing boat.

It said the type of vessel deployed by the Philippines and the weapons used were not immediately known.

A separate report on Taipei Times said the vessel was operating at around 164 nautical miles (304 km) southeast of Oluanpi in Pingtung County.

It quoted the Coast Guard as saying a 2,000-ton ship equipped with an automatic cannon and two 50mm machine guns had been dispatched, which arrived at 7 p.m. Thursday.

The vessel was to accompany the Kuang Ta Hsing No. 28 as it waits for a tow back to port Friday.

The ministry said said it asked Taiwan's representative office in Manila to express concern over the incident, upon learning of the incident from the Coast Guard Administration.

It also said it instructed the representative to ask the Philippine authorities to probe the death of the Taiwanese man.

Also, the ministry said it has expressed concern over the shooting incident to the Philippines' deputy representative to Taiwan, Carlo Aquino Thursday afternoon.

Meanwhile, the ministry said it has conveyed its condolences to Hung's family and offered to provide any necessary assistance.

Other passengers

The CNA report quoted the fishermen's association in Pingtung, southern Taiwan as saying Hung's son, son-in-law and an Indonesian fisherman were also on board when the shooting occurred.

Earlier, the ministry said Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration dispatched a vessel to rescue the Taiwanese fishing boat, which suffered engine failure.

It said the boat in distress were under tow on its way back to Taiwan with the help of two other fishing boats and under the escort of a coast guard vessel.  — ELR

GMA News

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