President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday defended the legality of the government’s sanctions against Manila over the killing of a Taiwanese fisherman last week, appealing for international condemnation of what he called outrageous behavior by the Philippines.
Speaking at a forum on international law and disputes organized by the Chinese (Taiwan) Society of International Law, Ma said the Philippine government vessel’s “excessive use of force” against a Taiwanese fishing boat in the two nations’ overlapping exclusive economic zones violated both international law and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
“We believe such outrageous behavior cannot be tolerated by the international community,” he said.
Photo: Pichi Chuang, Reuters
The Taiwanese boat was fired upon by a joint patrol of the Philippine Coast Guard and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources on Thursday last week in waters where the exclusive economic zones of Taiwan and the Philippines overlap, resulting in the death of 65-year-old fisherman Hung Shih-cheng (洪石成).
The Ma administration on Sunday demanded that the Philippine government apologize for the killing, compensate Hung’s family, launch a full investigation into the incident and start negotiations on a fisheries agreement.
Ma yesterday said the government issued the four demands in accordance with international law, adding that 11 punitive measures were implemented on Wednesday because the Philippine government had failed to meet the demands by Taipei’s deadline.
Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP
“I do hope [the Philippine government] will understand they have to be a responsible stakeholder in the international community. Killing unarmed innocent people on the open seas is not an act tolerated by civilized nations,” he said.
The government announced on Wednesday it had suspended Philippine worker applications, recalled Taiwan’s representative to the Philippines and asked the Philippine representative to Taiwan to return to Manila.
The eight other sanctions are a travel warning that discourages Taiwanese from visiting the Philippines, the suspension of high-level meetings at the World Health Assembly, the suspension of economic exchanges, the suspension of cooperation on agriculture and fisheries, the suspension of cooperation on technology, the suspension of negotiations on air space rights, the suspension of the visa-free program for Philippine nationals and that Taiwan would hold military exercises in disputed waters.
While condemning the Philippine government for its irresponsible handling of the incident, Ma also called on Taiwanese to treat Philippine workers and visitors rationally and in a friendly manner.
“Philippine workers work as hard as Taiwanese … I ask all Taiwanese to judge the matter as it stands and not to vent their anger on Philippine nationals living in Taiwan,” he said later on his Facebook page.
Japan has deployed long-range missiles in a southwestern region near China, the Japanese defense minister said yesterday, at a time when ties with Beijing are at their lowest in recent years. The missiles were installed in Kumamoto in the southern region of Kyushu, as Japan is attempting to shore up its military capacity as China steps up naval activity in the East China Sea. “Standoff defense capabilities enable us to counter the threat of enemy forces attempting to invade our country ... while ensuring the safety of our personnel,” Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. “This is an extremely important initiative for
MORE POPULAR: Taiwan Pass sales increased by 59 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said The Tourism Administration yesterday said that it has streamlined the Taiwan Pass, with two versions available for purchase beginning today. The tourism agency has made the pass available to international tourists since 2024, allowing them to access the high-speed rail, Taiwan Railway Corp services, four MRT systems and four Taiwan Tourist Shuttles. Previously, five types of Taiwan Pass were available, but some tourists have said that the offerings were too complicated. The agency said only two types of Taiwan Pass would be available, starting from a three-day pass with the high-speed rail and a three-day pass with Taiwan Railway Corp. The former costs NT$2,800
POLLS CONCERNS: There are concerns within the KMT that a Cheng Li-wun-Xi Jinping meeting could trigger a voter backlash in elections in November Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) accepted an invitation from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to visit next month, her party and Chinese state media reported yesterday. Cheng, who took up her role in November last year, “gladly accepted” the invitation to lead a delegation to China, the KMT said in a statement, confirming a Xinhua news agency report. Cheng “looks forward to joint efforts by both parties to advance the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, promote cross-strait exchanges and cooperation, and work for peace in the Taiwan Strait and greater well-being for people on both sides,” the statement said. Chinese
SIGNIFICANT TO THE WORLD: The delegation’s visit aims to send a clear message that bipartisan support for Taiwan is consistent, US Senator Jeanne Shaheen said The US Senate’s bipartisan support for Taiwan remains strong and Taiwan-US ties would continue for decades to come, a US Senate delegation said in Taipei yesterday, while calling on the legislature to swiftly pass a special defense budget bill. A US delegation led by Democratic US Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Republican US Senator John Curtis — both members of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations — arrived in Taiwan yesterday for a two-day visit. The other senators of the delegation included Senate Taiwan Caucus cochair Thom Tillis and Senate Committee on Armed Services senior member Jacky Rosen. Shaheen told a news
RSS