Manila yesterday defended the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) officer involved in an incident that led to a Taiwanese fisherman’s death.
“It was an aggressive act. The [Taiwanese fishing boat] rammed into our vessel, which was certainly an aggressive act, so the PCG responded accordingly,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte was quoted by media as saying.
PCG spokesman Commander Armand Balilo said “they [PCG officials] fired at the machinery to disable it [the Taiwanese fishing boat] ... if somebody died, they deserve our sympathy, but not an apology.”
Photo: AFP
Manila yesterday admitted that Hung Shih-cheng (洪石成), who was on board the fishing boat Kuang Ta Hsing No. 28, died in the incident.
Media said a report regarding the incident was sent to the Malacanang Palace yesterday that said PCG personnel on board the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessel “reacted to an attempt by one of the four Taiwanese fishing boats to ram the former’s ship.”
A Maritime Control Surveillance vessel spotted four Taiwanese fishing boats about 43 nautical miles (80km) east of Balintang island in the nation’s economic zone on Thursday, reports said.
“When they [PCG personnel] tried to board one of the fishing boats, one of the [Taiwanese] vessels rammed the BFAR vessel that was being manned by the coast guard,” Valte said. “So a warning shot was fired, but the [Taiwanese] vessels reportedly did not stop in their attempts to continuously ram the BFAR vessel and another shot was fired at the machinery portion of the ship.”
Valte was quoted as saying that the Philippines would decide whether it needs to apologize after the investigation is complete.
Meanwhile, PCG Commander Rodolfo Disorena said 11 law enforcement personnel with the PCG and BFAR had been suspended for their roles in the incident.
Rodolfo Isorena, the PCG commandant, promised that the Philippines would investigate the incident in a “transparent and impartial” manner.
The combined effect of the monsoon, the outer rim of Typhoon Fengshen and a low-pressure system is expected to bring significant rainfall this week to various parts of the nation, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The heaviest rain is expected to occur today and tomorrow, with torrential rain expected in Keelung’s north coast, Yilan and the mountainous regions of Taipei and New Taipei City, the CWA said. Rivers could rise rapidly, and residents should stay away from riverbanks and avoid going to the mountains or engaging in water activities, it said. Scattered showers are expected today in central and
COOPERATION: Taiwan is aligning closely with US strategic objectives on various matters, including China’s rare earths restrictions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan could deal with China’s tightened export controls on rare earth metals by turning to “urban mining,” a researcher said yesterday. Rare earth metals, which are used in semiconductors and other electronic components, could be recovered from industrial or electronic waste to reduce reliance on imports, National Cheng Kung University Department of Resources Engineering professor Lee Cheng-han (李政翰) said. Despite their name, rare earth elements are not actually rare — their abundance in the Earth’s crust is relatively high, but they are dispersed, making extraction and refining energy-intensive and environmentally damaging, he said, adding that many countries have opted to
CONCESSION: A Shin Kong official said that the firm was ‘willing to contribute’ to the nation, as the move would enable Nvidia Crop to build its headquarters in Taiwan Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽) yesterday said it would relinquish land-use rights, or known as surface rights, for two plots in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投), paving the way for Nvidia Corp to expand its office footprint in Taiwan. The insurer said it made the decision “in the interest of the nation’s greater good” and would not seek compensation from taxpayers for potential future losses, calling the move a gesture to resolve a months-long impasse among the insurer, the Taipei City Government and the US chip giant. “The decision was made on the condition that the Taipei City Government reimburses the related
African swine fever was confirmed at a pig farm in Taichung, the Ministry of Agriculture said today, prompting a five-day nationwide ban on transporting and slaughtering pigs, and marking the loss of Taiwan’s status as the only Asian nation free of all three major swine diseases. The ministry held a news conference today confirming that the virus was detected at a farm in Wuci District (梧棲) yesterday evening. Authorities preemptively culled 195 pigs at the farm at about 3am and disinfected the entire site to prevent the disease from spreading, the ministry said. Authorities also set up a 3km-radius control zone
RSS