Crew members aboard a Taiwanese fishing vessel in the Indian Ocean were held by their crewmates yesterday after a verbal conflict between two Philippine crew members escalated into a physical confrontation, witnesses said.
Twenty-four people were aboard the Wen Peng, including three Taiwanese, 10 Filipinos and 11 Indonesians, the Fisheries Agency said.
The three Taiwanese were captain Chen Chen-mao (陳振茂), chief engineer Kao Hsin-kuang (高信光) and observer Yang Wen-pin (楊文斌), an agency official, it said.
Photo copied by Chen Yen-ting, Taipei Times
Two Philippine crew members were engaged in a verbal conflict when one stabbed and killed the other at about 2am, sources said.
The assailant then reportedly threw the victim’s body overboard and ordered more than 10 crew members to jump into the water, they said.
Chen, Kao and two Philippine crew members were able to protect themselves by locking themselves inside a cabin, sources said, but were unable to confirm Yang’s safety.
The agency and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that they requested assistance from Mauritian officials and other nearby vessels.
At about 3pm, a Taiwanese fishing vessel named Hung Fu No. 88 and the Australian commercial vessel Stahla spotted Wen Peng and began rescue efforts, agency Deputy Director-General Lin Kuo-ping (林國平) said.
Rescuers were able to pull four Philippine crew members from the water, the ministry said.
The rescued crew said that more than 10 people had either fallen or jumped overboard, and that Chen, Kao, Yang and others were being held by their crewmates, the agency said.
Rescuers from Hung Fu No. 88 said they suspect that some of the crew members had negotiated a deal to be spared, Wen Peng owner Chen Sheng-fu (陳勝富) told the Chinese-language Apple Daily.
The rescuers said they witnessed six or seven crew members walking on the deck, while Chen Chen-mao appeared to have been forced out of the captain’s cabin, and Kao and two other crew members were locked in a separate cabin, Chen Sheng-fu said.
Since Hung Fu No. 88 is not equipped with arms, it sent out an SOS, Cheng Sheng-fu said.
Australian military aircraft arrived at about 6pm to join the rescue efforts, the ministry said.
As of press time last night, the incident had reportedly resulted in one death and one severe injury, although people fear there could be more victims, due to the water’s cold temperature in the morning.
Wen Peng is a 255-tonne tuna fishing vessel registered in Pingtung County’s Donggang Township (東港) that earlier this month departed Port Louis, Mauritius, to operate in the Indian Ocean.
According to international regulations, an observer must be aboard to collect data on fishing behavior and catch type, the agency said.
Additional reporting by Lu Yi-hsuan
‘UNACCEPTABLE’: The foreign ministry said that China’s behavior broke international law, while Johnny Chiang was worried such balloons could be used against Taiwan A suspected Chinese surveillance balloon flying over the US was yesterday condemned by officials in Taipei and sparked calls for the government to plan countermeasures. The Pentagon on Thursday said it had detected a Chinese surveillance balloon flying over the country. Beijing has said the balloon is a civilian meteorological device that drifted into US territory after being blown off course. The National Security Bureau and Ministry of National Defense should investigate whether surveillance balloons could be used against Taiwan and prepare to respond to such acts, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) said. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s postponement
INTELLIGENCE VALUE: While the US was working on recovering the balloon’s remains, China said that it reserved ‘the right to make ... necessary responses’ US President Joe Biden’s administration lauded the Pentagon for shooting down an alleged Chinese spy balloon off the US Atlantic coast on Saturday, but China angrily voiced its “strong dissatisfaction” at the move, and said it might make “necessary responses.” The craft spent several days flying over North America before it was targeted off the coast of the southeastern state of South Carolina with a missile fired from an F-22 plane, Pentagon officials said. It fell into relatively shallow water just 14m deep. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin called the operation a “deliberate and lawful action” that came in response to China’s
RISK FACTOR: ASEAN issued a statement saying the cross-strait situation ‘could lead to miscalculation,’ but it is willing to facilitate dialogue to ensure stability in the region The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday welcomed a joint statement by ASEAN leaders voicing concerns that the situation across the Taiwan Strait could affect regional stability. The statement was issued after the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat ended on Saturday in Jakarta. It was the first major meeting since Indonesia assumed chairmanship of ASEAN this year. Attendees of the meeting reiterated their determination to promote “sustainable peace, security, stability, and prosperity within and beyond the region,” the statement said. They expressed concerns about developments across the Taiwan Strait and their “implications on regional stability,” the statement said. The cross-strait situation “could lead to miscalculation, serious
THINK TANK VISIT: The former US Indo-Pacific official said that a capture of Taiwan’s outlying islands by China rather than a large-scale attack is a grave security concern The US and Taiwan can deepen their relations on many fronts, former head of the US Indo-Pacific Command Philip Davidson said yesterday while visiting President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) at the Presidential Office. Davidson is leading a six-member delegation from the National Bureau of Asian Research, a US-based think tank. They arrived on Monday and are scheduled to depart tomorrow. Tsai met with the delegation yesterday morning, welcoming the organization on its first visit to Taiwan since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the office said in a statement. She thanked Davidson, a retired admiral, for paying close attention to matters regarding the Taiwan