A Philippine official has denied allegations of mistreatment of crew members during Philippine authorities’ boarding of a Taiwanese fishing vessel on Monday.
Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) spokesman Nazario Briguera on Friday said that BFAR law enforcement officers “observed the proper boarding protocols” when they boarded the Taiwanese vessel Sheng Yu Feng (昇漁豐號) and towed it to Basco Port in the Philippines.
Briguera’s comments came a day after the Taiwanese captain of the Sheng Yu Feng, Chen Tsung-tun (陳宗頓), held a news conference in Pingtung County and accused the Philippine authorities of mistreatment during the boarding of his vessel.
Photo: CNA
Chen said he and his four Indonesian crew members were asleep when 12 armed officers from a Philippine government vessel suddenly boarded without prior warning.
He said Philippine law enforcement personnel “acted like Somalian pirates,” confiscating not only his catch, but also personal belongings — losses he estimated at NT$300,000.
Briguera denied Chen’s claims, saying: “There is no truth to that.”
The Taiwanese vessel was “engaged in actual fishing within the territorial sea of the Philippines” and BFAR officers had “acted professionally” during the inspection and apprehension, Briguera said.
“The Philippines is committed to respect[ing] the maritime territory of other countries, so we expect other countries to do the same,” he added.
However, Chen has maintained that his vessel had been operating within the overlapping Taiwan-Philippines exclusive economic zone, but outside the Philippines’ contiguous zone, which extends 12 to 24 nautical miles (22km to 44km) off its coast.
The Fisheries Agency on Friday said it had reviewed navigational records of the Sheng Yu Feng and found that the vessel was operating within the overlapping waters.
The vessel did not enter Philippine territorial seas and hence did not violate the fisheries agreement signed between Taiwan and the Philippines in 2015, it said.
The Sheng Yu Feng and its crew were released without penalties on Monday afternoon after Taiwan lodged a diplomatic protest through official channels, it said.
The agency said that to ensure the safety of Taiwanese fishing vessels, it had asked the Coast Guard Administration to step up patrols in the region.
Meanwhile, Chen and his family have urged the government to investigate the incident, citing provisions in the 2015 agreement that required both sides to avoid using violence or unnecessary force during law enforcement actions.
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