The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) yesterday separately confirmed that the Taiwanese skipper of a fishing vessel that Somali pirates had hijacked was killed on May 10 — 11 days before the ministry in Taipei was informed.
The family of Wu Lai-yu (吳來于), captain of the now sunken Jih Chun Tsai No. 68, which the pirates had been using as a mother ship since it was seized on March 30 last year, was informed by the ministry of his death on May 21.
News of his death — the result of crossfire between the US Navy and the pirates — was made public one week later, on Saturday, in a ministry press statement. That same day, the ministry received Wu’s death certificate from the US.
Information about the incident released by international organizations that monitor maritime security and piracy before the ministry went public that day prompted inquiries into whether the US had notified Taiwan about the news as early as possible.
Speaking by telephone, Department of African Affairs Director-General Samuel Chen (陳士良) said the firefight took place on May 10 and that it was also confirmed on the same day that Wu and three Somali pirates were killed.
This information was not passed on to Taipei, Chen said. In a press statement last night, the ministry said it first learned of Wu’s death on the NATO Web site on May 21, whereupon it ordered representative offices to verify the authenticity of the information with the US in Washington and in Bahrain, where the US Fifth Fleet is based.
“We looked into the news upon finding the information on Saturday morning by contacting Washington, Bahrain and the AIT,” Chen said.
In a telephone interview, AIT spokesperson Sheila Paskman confirmed that the engagement between the USS Stephen W. Groves and Jih Chun Tsai No. 68 occurred on May 10 and “when people from the USS Stephen W. Groves boarded the ship, they found that the ship master and three pirates were dead.”
Asked why the US government didn’t inform Taiwan of Wu’s death on May 10, Paskman said she did not have information on the date when the ministry was informed because yesterday was an AIT holiday in observance of the US’ Memorial Day.
“I don’t have the answer for you today, but the AIT notified [the ministry] as soon as we had confirmation,” she said.
Paskman said that what occurred was collateral damage in the fight against piracy in compliance with NATO anti-piracy operations.
“Under international laws, all states have the duty to cooperate in the suppression of piracy,” she said, adding that she could not discuss the details of the incident while the investigation was ongoing.
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