China wants to conduct a joint investigation with the Philippines on the West Philippine Sea fishing boat sinking incident, a Chinese foreign ministry official said in a press conference in Beijing yesterday.
“To find a proper solution, we suggest a joint investigation at an early date so the two sides can exchange respective initial findings and properly handle the matter through friendly consultations based on mutually-recognized investigation results,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang.
READ: Chinese vessel sinks Philippine fishing boat in West Philippine Sea, abandons crew members
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s cabinet has a similar idea. Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra told reporters yesterday that the cabinet has agreed to conduct a marine inquiry, preferably with China, ABS-CBN News reported. He said they’d like to “establish the true facts, allocate responsibility for restitution, and adopt measures to avoid similar incidents in the future.”
Duterte, who has been criticized for not standing up against China in light of the controversial collision is open to conducting the investigation with the Asian superpower.
“The President welcomes a joint investigation and an early resolution of the case. We will await a formal communication from the Chinese Embassy,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo told reporters, according to the state-owned Philippine News Agency.
However, the Philippines’ own Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. has a totally different idea. In a tweet this morning, he rejected the proposal for a joint investigation with China.
“There will be NO joint investigation. China and Philippines will conduct their respective investigations,” he said.
Who the fuck is this guy? There will be NO joint investigation. China and Philippines will conduct their respective investigations. https://t.co/rhHrjwRFmC
— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) June 20, 2019
On June 9, a Chinese-owned trawler hit and sank a Filipino fishing boat in the disputed West Philippine Sea’s Recto Bank (aka Reed Bank). The Chinese crewmen abandoned 22 Filipino fishermen in the water who tried to stay afloat for hours until they were rescued by a Vietnamese vessel. China has acknowledged that a Chinese crew hit the Filipinos’ boat but has not apologized and refuses to call the incident a hit and run.
Duterte has similarly downplayed the incident, calling it “just a collision of ships” and not something to wage war over. This sparked disappointment and the ire of government officials, the captain of the Filipino fishing boat, and regular Filipinos. Many wished the president were as passionate about this issue as he is with other ones like illegal drugs and the recent Canadian trash controversy.
Some Filipinos took to social media to vent out their frustrations, causing the search term “Duterte duwag (coward)” to trend on Philippine Twitter yesterday.
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