The Fisheries Agency yesterday released information concerning Kuang Ta Hsing No. 28’s position and movement throughout its voyage to disprove the claim by the Philippines that the fishing boat had intruded into its territorial waters, leading to the fatal shooting of Taiwanese fisherman Hung Shih-cheng (洪石成).
From the time the 15-tonne Kuang Ta Hsing No. 28 left Siaoliouciou (小琉球), an island off Pingtung County, on May 4, until it was disabled by Philippine Coast Guard personnel on May 9, the voyage data recorder (VDR) system onboard “was kept operational all along the voyage,” Fisheries Agency Deputy Director-General Tsay Tzu-yaw (蔡日耀) said.
Tsay said the information from the boat’s VDR, which recorded vital information related to the vessel’s operation, showed that the boat was operating within the nation’s exclusive economic zone and had never entered the territorial waters of the Philippines.
Photo: Huang Liang-chieh, Taipei Times
According to the information, the ship arrived at 20o north latitude and 123o east longitude at 2:30am on May 7 and was operating in the area between 19o 50 minutes and 20o 10 minutes north latitude, and between 122o 48 minutes and 123o 25 minutes east longitude until 8:24am on May 9, Tsay said.
From midnight on May 9 to 6:18am that day, the ship was sailing west by south at a speed of between 3 knots and 8 knots (5.6kph and 14.8kph) before it arrived at 19o 57 minutes north latitude, 122o 48 minutes east longitude, where it sailed at a lower speed of between 0 knots and 1 knot, he said.
The data showed that the ship sailed at a speed of between 4 knots and 5 knots in an east-south-east direction at 8:24am that day, while its speed increased to 10 knots at 10:12am, when its location was measured at 19o 59 minutes north latitude, 122o 55 minutes east longitude, “presumably being chased” by the Philippine vessel, Tsay said.
Tsay said the ship lost power at 11:24am at 20o 7 minutes, 123o east longitude, when its speed was measured at zero, data showed.
Analysis of the information has showed that it “contained no disruption to data recording during the voyage,” meaning that that the VDR system was operational, Tsay said.
The claims by the Philippines that its coast guard personnel were carrying out their duty to stop illegal fishing were “defamatory,” Tsay said.
“We have shown our evidence, but they haven’t,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice said the Philippines had agreed to allow Taiwanese investigators to board the Philippine vessel that attacked the Kuang Ta Hsing No. 28.
Deputy Minister of Justice Chen Ming-tang (陳明堂) said the Philippines had agreed to allow Taiwanese investigators to inspect the firearms used and compare ballistics results with those obtained by Philippine investigators.
Chen said ministry official Yang Wan-li (楊婉莉) is now negotiating matters involving the investigation with the authorities in Manila.
The ministry is seeking to see the video of the incident shot by the Philippine patrol boat, but the negotiation is ongoing, Chen said.
He said the Philippines refused to allow Taiwanese to interview Philippine Coast Guard officers, but the ministry hoped that questions prepared for the suspects could be asked by Philippine investigators.
He reiterated that allowing Taiwanese investigators to join the probe in Manila would not intrude on the Philippine’s judicial sovereignty.
Chen said the ministry has agreed to Manila sending a team to Taiwan.
Earlier on Monday, Philippine Secretary of Justice Leila de Lima reiterated her opposition to the idea of a joint investigation, saying that Taiwan and the Philippines were instead conducting “parallel” or “respective” investigations.
“It’s not advisable to agree to a joint probe, because you know, aside from sovereignty issues involved, there is foreign policy implications involved because of the ‘one China’ policy,” De Lima said.
However, a Taiwanese team would be allowed to view written testimony given by the officers, De Lima said.
The Philippines has also expressed interest in sending its investigators to Taiwan to gain further information on the shooting.
De Lima said Manila hoped to meet the Taiwanese fishermen who were on the boat at the time of the incident and get their statements, as well as conduct another autopsy on the deceased fisherman, if his family agrees.
De Lima said that the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation had completed its investigation in the Philippines and was waiting to go to Taiwan to continue the investigation there, before issuing a final report.
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
The government is considering polices to increase rental subsidies for people living in social housing who get married and have children, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. During an interview with the Plain Law Movement (法律白話文) podcast, Cho said that housing prices cannot be brought down overnight without affecting banks and mortgages. Therefore, the government is focusing on providing more aid for young people by taking 3 to 5 percent of urban renewal projects and zone expropriations and using that land for social housing, he said. Single people living in social housing who get married and become parents could obtain 50 percent more
DEMOGRAPHICS: Robotics is the most promising answer to looming labor woes, the long-term care system and national contingency response, an official said Taiwan is to launch a five-year plan to boost the robotics industry in a bid to address labor shortages stemming from a declining and aging population, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The government approved the initiative, dubbed the Smart Robotics Industry Promotion Plan, via executive order, senior officials told a post-Cabinet meeting news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s population decline would strain the economy and the nation’s ability to care for vulnerable and elderly people, said Peter Hong (洪樂文), who heads the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) Department of Engineering and Technologies. Projections show that the proportion of Taiwanese 65 or older would
Democracies must remain united in the face of a shifting geopolitical landscape, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Tuesday, while emphasizing the importance of Taiwan’s security to the world. “Taiwan’s security is essential to regional stability and to defending democratic values amid mounting authoritarianism,” Tsai said at the annual forum in the Danish capital. Noting a “new geopolitical landscape” in which global trade and security face “uncertainty and unpredictability,” Tsai said that democracies must remain united and be more committed to building up resilience together in the face of challenges. Resilience “allows us to absorb shocks, adapt under
RSS