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Taiwan's fishing boats still vulnerable despite talks with Manila

ROC Central News Agency

2013/06/17 16:58:05

Manila, June 17 (CNA) Taiwan and the Philippines may have agreed on preliminary steps to avoid violence in fishing disputes, but Taiwanese fishing boats intruding in Philippine waters will still be arrested, the head of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) said Monday.

MECO Chairman Amadeo R. Perez Jr. said the two sides reached an initial consensus on many points at a meeting on June 14, including no use of force and violence in policing their respective fishing grounds.

The talks were held to prepare for negotiations on a fishery agreement aimed at preventing a recurrence of the shooting death of a Taiwanese fisherman by Philippine Coast Guard officers in May.

Perez stressed, however, that the Philippines would still seize and detain Taiwanese fishing boats that cross into its waters.

If the captains or crew of the intruding Taiwanese fishing boats are not indicted, the boats and crew members will be released after paying an administrative fine of US$50,000, Perez said.

But if Taiwanese fishermen are indicted and found guilty as charged, they will have to pay fines ranging between US$100,000 and US$200,000 before being released, Perez said.

If Taiwanese fishing boats are found with contraband goods such as illegal drugs or endangered animal species on board, crew members may face other criminal charges, he added.

Perez did not offer a specific boundary for "Philippine waters," one of the points of contention related to the May 9 attack about 40 nautical miles east of Balintang Island that sparked a diplomatic spat between Taipei and Manila.

Taiwan says the shooting occurred in the overlapping waters of the two sides' exclusive economic zones (EEZs), while the Philippines said the fishing boat was poaching in its territorial waters.

That issue was not resolved at the June 14 preparatory meeting, but the two countries did agree that there should be no more violence as occurred in May except if Taiwanese fishing boats resist arrest, Perez said.

"That (situation) is something extraordinary... If they use force against our law enforcement agencies, then the next alternative is to use force also," Perez said in a television interview Monday, according to Philippine daily the Manila Bulletin.

"But as much as possible, we agreed to forgo using force."

Taipei and Manila also agreed to work out a mechanism for law enforcement cooperation in the overlapping waters of the two countries' EEZs that will enable each side to notify the other in the event of incidents and ensure that there is no use of force and violence.

The mechanism will facilitate notification of incidents such as chases, and boarding and inspections of each other's fishing boats or the arrest and detention of each other's fishermen.

The two sides also agreed to pursue a fishery pact similar to one signed between Taiwan and Japan earlier in April covering fishing grounds in the East China Sea.

Taiwanese and Filipino officials are likely to meet in Taipei in early July for a second preparatory meeting to pave the way for future formal bilateral fishery talks, Taiwanese diplomatic officials said in Taipei Sunday.

(By Emerson Lim and Sofia Wu)