China has rejected President Rodrigo Duterte’s suggestion that there should be a neutral third party in the investigation of the West Philippine Sea boat sinking incident, Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said at a press conference in Malacañang Palace today.
On June 9, a Chinese-owned vessel hit a Filipino boat and abandoned 22 Filipino fishermen at sea 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 boat, saw the Filipinos in the water screaming for help, then sped away without doing anything. The Filipinos were later rescued by Vietnamese fishermen.
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. According to Panelo, however, China does not want to involve anyone else.
“They offered a joint investigation which the president accepted. But he (Duterte) wanted a third party. They said there shouldn’t be a third party. It should just be us talking about the incident. That’s the recent development,” Panelo said.
Panelo said the Philippines and China would each set up their own task force and investigate. “Then we will exchange our findings and then we decide what we will do,” he said.
“For them, it’s not necessary. If you agree to the findings, why will you need a third party?”
Panelo echoed a statement he said last week, saying that it’s likely that the Philippine government will only request for a third party if their results contradict with China’s.
Panelo used today’s media conference to hit the president’s critics for saying that Duterte has been hesitant in condemning what the Chinese fishermen have done.
“They want us to slam China. We don’t even know if that vessel is state-owned. If that were a private Chinese vessel, imagine what would have happened if we criticized them non-stop? We don’t even know. The president is very careful when it comes to that.”
Duterte is known for his vocal criticism of foreign governments but he has been uncharacteristically calm when it comes to this issue.
When he first spoke about the Recto Bank boat sinking incident on June 17, he called it a mere “maritime incident.” He downplayed it once again last week when he said in a public speech that the Filipino boat was just “sideswiped” and not rammed by the Chinese-owned vessel.
A few days after the Recto Bank boat sinking incident became public, Duterte said that Chinese fishermen can continue fishing in the area. He said he made a deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping that gave Chinese fishermen permission to fish in Recto Bank even though it is an exclusive economic zone owned by the Philippines. In exchange, Xi allegedly agreed to let Filipinos fish in the Scarborough Shoal — which both the Philippines and China are claiming — even though China does not have exclusive rights to the area.
Critics said that Duterte’s deal with Xi is a violation of the constitution, making it an impeachable offense.
However, Panelo believes that Duterte’s agreement with Xi was purely verbal and undocumented.
“I don’t think they signed anything. You know sometimes, heads of state have a word of honor. You don’t have to sign anything.”
When asked by a reporter if the agreement was legal, Panelo answered, “Why would it not be legal? There’s nothing wrong with it.” He then cited Article 2, Section 4 of the constitution which says that the government’s primary duty “is to serve and protect the people.”
Duterte’s government is generally perceived to have pro-China policies, with the president even announcing an economic and military split from the United States, one of its oldest allies, to align himself ideologically with China.
He also continues to resist upholding the 2016 decision of the United Nations-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration which invalidated China’s claim over parts of the West Philippine Sea, including the Recto Bank.
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