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Fishery association accuses Philippine military of blackmail

Seven Pingtung County fishing boats have allegedly been detained and at least four blackmailed by Philippine military personnel after the Taiwanese fishermen tried to catch seasonal bluefin tuna in disputed waters south of Taiwan, according to a local fishery association.

Pingtung's Liuchiu fishery association director Tsai Pao-shing (蔡寶興) yesterday told reporters that at least four fishing boats had been blackmailed by Philippine military personnel this month.

He said that two of the larger fishing boats "were released after paying NT$2 million (US$63,700) each" and two of the smaller vessels "were asked and gave NT$100,000 each."

According to Tsai, the captains of the fishing boats told him that a certain Philippine military vessel, bearing the number 168, was often seen on the lookout for Taiwanese fishing boats operating in waters between Taiwan and the Philippines.

After stopping and accusing the Taiwanese fishing boats of encroaching on Philippine waters, personnel on board the vessel would then threaten them with arrest unless they pay a fine, Tsai said.

Tsai alleged that the Philippine military personnel even had a Taiwanese bank account, and would tell the fishermen to call their families in Taiwan and deposit the money into their designated account.

The military personnel also have Taiwanese accomplices who reside in the Philippines, Tsai said.

These accomplices were the ones who make the phone calls to the bank in Taiwan to make sure that the money has been deposited, he said.

"The fishing boats were detained and released within an hour after they paid ransom," Tsai said.

While the captains of the fishing boats tried to show the military a copy of the fishery agreement with the government of Cagayan Province in the Philippines and argued that they had paid the local government NT$600,000 to operate in disputed waters, the military personnel simply said they did not recognize such agreements by a local government.

Pingtung County Commissioner Tsao Chi-hung (曹啟鴻) on Friday visited the families of fishermen who are still detained in the Philippines.

The families asked the government to negotiate with Philippine authorities to speed up the release of these fishermen.

They also asked the government to enhance protection for fishing boats operating in waters south of Taiwan.
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