Taiwan takes issue with Manila's 'unintended' assertion
ROC Central News Agency
2013/05/18 01:45:50
Taipei, May 18 (CNA) While acknowledging Manila's official apology over the fatal shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs insisted Friday that the Philippine response to Taiwan's demands has not been "positive, sufficient and concrete" enough.
Such a response led to Taiwan's decision to impose sanctions against the Philippines on Wednesday, Foreign Minister David Lin told an international press conference in Taipei.
In addition to a formal apology, the Taiwan government has demanded that Manila compensate the losses of the fisherman's family, punish those responsible for the death of Hung Shih-cheng and begin talks with Taiwan on the signing of a fishery agreement to avoid similar incidents.
Lin noted that the Philippines has made an official apology over the incident, but he said Taiwan could not accept Manila's characterization of Hung's death as "unintended."
"We acknowledge the official apology but we feel strongly that the word 'unintended' was totally unacceptable to the ROC government," Lin said, referring to Taiwan's formal name, the Republic of China.
"Since the Philippine government claims that the case is still being investigated, and no conclusion has been made in the ongoing investigation, there is no basis to say that it was an 'unintended' loss of life," he said.
Some Taiwan officials, including President Ma Ying-jeou, called it a "cold-blooded murder" although other officials said that the crew of the Philippine coast guard vessel under investigation may have committed a criminal act when they fired on Hung's fishing boat, the Kuang Ta Hsin No. 28.
The point of contention lies in the question of whether the Philippine crew was merely trying to disable the fishing boat, as the Philippine side has claimed, or shots were fired without warning and were intended to kill, as the three survivors on the fishing boat have insisted.
In any case, Taiwan said that the Philippine crew used excessive and unnecessary force against an unarmed vessel operating in the two countries' overlapping exclusive economic zones (EEZ's) in violation of international law.
In the May 9 incident, it was revealed in Manila Friday that the Philippine patrol strafed the fishing boat with more than a dozen automatic rifles and a machine gun, leaving it with more than 50 bullet holes, which led the Taiwan government to believe that the Philippine personnel shot with the intention to kill.
Describing the shooting as "an unacceptable act of violence" and "an outrageous behavior," Lin pointed out that it took place in the two countries' overlapping EEZ's, not the Philippine EEZ as claimed by Manila.
Lin also rebutted the claim that the 15-ton fishing boat provoked the incident by attempting to ram the coast guard vessel while evading arrest.
"Our inspection of the Kuang Ta Hsin No. 28 revealed no evidence supporting their position," he added.
Given that the Philippine vessel is more than six times as big, "it is scarcely conceivable that such an action would have occurred in any case," he said.
The Philippine vessel, Lin said, fled the scene without offering assistance after disabling the fishing boat and killing a fisherman on board.
"This is clearly in contravention of international law and humanitarian principles," he added.
In a statement issued at the press conference, the ministry said that the fatal shooting may have involved criminal conduct, such as homicide, and violated the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Offenses committed on board a vessel or aircraft of the Republic of China (Taiwan) outside the territory of the ROC (which includes its EEZs) shall be considered an offense committed within the territory, the ministry said.
The ROC has jurisdiction over cases involving foreign nationals who have committed offenses, punishable by at least three years in jail, against ROC nationals outside the territory of the ROC, according to the statement.
According to paragraph 1 of Article 73 of the UNCLOS, a coastal state may safeguard its sovereign rights by taking necessary measures, including boarding, inspection, arrest and judicial proceedings.
This does not include, however, the use of armed force, such as the firing of weapons, it said.
In addition, Article 74 of the UNCLOS states that the delimitation of the exclusive economic zone between states with opposite or adjacent coasts should be effected by agreement on the basis of international law.
If no agreement can be reached, the states concerned should, in a spirit of understanding and cooperation, enter into provisional arrangements of a practical nature.
The Philippines signed the UNCLOS in 1982, and further ratified it in 1984. Taiwan is not a signatory to the agreement because it is not a member of the United Nations, but it respects the convention's terms, the Foreign Ministry said.
The convention took effect in 1994, and the Philippines is obliged to abide by its stipulations when handling related matters, according to the ministry.
"The Philippines should shoulder its legal responsibilities accordingly," the statement said.
Taiwan has also complained that the Philippines' offer to hand over donations from Philippine citizens to the Hung family fell short of its demand for official compensation.
Unhappy with Manila's handling of the situation, Taiwan has frozen the hiring of Filipinos who want to work in Taiwan, recalled its de facto ambassador to Manila, and expelled the Philippines' envoy to Taiwan.
Taiwan announced the series of sanctions Wednesday against the Philippines, which also included the suspension of economic and technological exchanges between the two sides.
The Philippines is investigating the shooting and the results are expected to be released soon, the country's National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said Friday.
According to the PCG report, the Taiwanese fishing boat tried to ram the Philippine vessel to evade arrest after they were caught poaching some 39 nautical miles off Balintang Island in the northern Philippines May 9.
(By James Lee)
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