More than two months after a Chinese ship illegally fishing in Philippine territorial waters collided with and sunk a Philippine fishing vessel, leaving 22 Filipino fishermen drifting in the water for hours, the ship’s owner has apologized. Or so we’re told.
Given that this apology comes on the exact day that President Rodrigo Duterte — the same president who has been trying to wish this away since it happened — is landing in China, we’ll forgive you for thinking the timing feels just a bit dubious.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) today posted on its Twitter account the English translation of a statement from an “Association” in which the unidentified owner of the vessel, allegedly registered in Guangdong province, is supposedly a member.
That’s right. Not only is the owner of the boat unnamed, the DFA didn’t even provide a name for the association ostensibly apologizing on his or her behalf. Luckily for us, local news outlet Rappler tracked that info down via the Philippine embassy in Beijing and discovered the apology was signed by a Chen Shiqin, president of the Guangdong Fishery Mutual Insurance Association.
“The shipowner of the Chinese fishing boat involved, through our Association, would like to express his sincere apology to the Filipino fishermen,” the statement, sent by the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Affairs, reads.
“After the accident, our Association have (sic) timely asked for information from the shipowner, ship captain, and crew of the fishing boat involved and investigated the accident.”
— DFA Philippines (@DFAPHL) August 28, 2019
Read: Chinese vessel sinks Philippine fishing boat in West Philippine Sea, abandons crew members
“We believe that, although this accident is an unintentional mistake of the Chinese fishermen, the Chinese fishing boat should, however, take the major responsibility in the accident,” the statement adds.
“The Philippine side has requested to file a specific appeal for civil compensation based on actual loss. Our Association will urge the shipowner of the fishing boat involved to actively coordinate with the Philippine side to actively expedite the latter’s claim for compensation according to the procedures for [an] insurance claim.”
For those who might have been living under a rock, on June 9, the Chinese-owned vessel in question hit and sank the Filipino fishing boat the Gem-Ver, then promptly left the area, abandoning 22 Filipino fishermen to their fate near Recto Bank (aka Reed Bank).
According to the Filipino boat’s captain, Junel Insigne, the Chinese crew members turned their lights on after hitting their ship, saw the Filipinos in the water screaming for help, then sped away without doing anything. The fishermen were eventually rescued by Vietnamese fishermen.
Read: ‘JUST A COLLISION’: Duterte breaks silence on Chinese sinking of PH fishing boat
Shortly thereafter, the Chinese Embassy in Manila released a statement rejecting the use of the term “hit and run,” saying that the Chinese crew did not rescue the Filipino men for fear that they would be besieged by other Filipino boats. Insigne dismissed this, saying they were the only Filipino boat in the Recto Bank when the incident occurred.
President Rodrigo Duterte has since downplayed the incident repeatedly, calling the event as “just a collision of ships,” and not something to wage war over. That’s in line with his approach to the South China Sea ever since an international arbitration court ruled conclusively that the waters in question belonged to the Philippines.
China has proposed a joint investigation into the incident, which Duterte agreed to, but the president wanted a third body from another country to be part of the investigation. In July, presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said China rejected Duterte’s proposal.
DFA Secretary Teodoro Locsin said last month that based on his department’s investigation, there was clearly “no question” that the Chinese vessel abandoned the fishermen. However, he blamed the Filipino fishermen for sleeping through the night and for failing to install lights on their boat which, he believed, could have prevented the incident from occurring.
Read: Robin Padilla downplays PH boat sinking incident; says angry critics should fight Chinese themselves
The incident led to a massive outcry among Filipinos, with many expressing frustration over the government’s apparent refusal to take the Chinese government to task for what occurred.
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