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.
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE: Beijing would likely intensify public opinion warfare in next year’s local elections to prevent Lai from getting re-elected, the ‘Yomiuri Shimbun’ said Internal documents from a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company indicated that China has been using the technology to intervene in foreign elections, including propaganda targeting Taiwan’s local elections next year and presidential elections in 2028, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday. The Institute of National Security of Vanderbilt University obtained nearly 400 pages of documents from GoLaxy, a company with ties to the Chinese government, and found evidence that it had apparently deployed sophisticated, AI-driven propaganda campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan to shape public opinion, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. GoLaxy provides insights, situation analysis and public opinion-shaping technology by conducting network surveillance
‘POLITICAL GAME’: DPP lawmakers said the motion would not meet the legislative threshold needed, and accused the KMT and the TPP of trivializing the Constitution The Legislative Yuan yesterday approved a motion to initiate impeachment proceedings against President William Lai (賴清德), saying he had undermined Taiwan’s constitutional order and democracy. The motion was approved 61-50 by lawmakers from the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who together hold a legislative majority. Under the motion, a roll call vote for impeachment would be held on May 19 next year, after various hearings are held and Lai is given the chance to defend himself. The move came after Lai on Monday last week did not promulgate an amendment passed by the legislature that
AFTERMATH: The Taipei City Government said it received 39 minor incident reports including gas leaks, water leaks and outages, and a damaged traffic signal A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Taiwan’s northeastern coast late on Saturday, producing only two major aftershocks as of yesterday noon, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The limited aftershocks contrast with last year’s major earthquake in Hualien County, as Saturday’s earthquake occurred at a greater depth in a subduction zone. Saturday’s earthquake struck at 11:05pm, with its hypocenter about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km. Shaking was felt in 17 administrative regions north of Tainan and in eastern Taiwan, reaching intensity level 4 on Taiwan’s seven-tier seismic scale, the CWA said. In Hualien, the
RSS