I would like to make some important clarifications on the statements made by Amando Doronila in his May 29 column titled “Taiwanese fishermen provoked Coast Guard into firing.”
I would like to reiterate that the May 9 shooting incident that resulted in the death of Hung Shih-chen did not happen in Philippine territorial waters. The shooting incident happened at N 20º, E 123º, 164 nautical miles away from Erluanbi, Taiwan, and 39 nautical miles away from Batanes. As Taiwan and the Philippines have overlapping exclusive economic zones (EEZs), the area where the incident happened is not in Philippine territorial waters. (With this letter was a colored illustration of the incident location.—Ed.)
Doronila was not in any position to misleadingly accuse Guang Da Hsin No. 28 and its crew members of “provoking the Coast Guards in firing” and “poaching.” The fact that this did not happen in Philippine territorial waters attests that Doronila’s accusations of provocations and poaching are totally groundless and biased.
I would also like to note that the incident Doronila cited about an “attack on a Filipino worker by a gang of youths wielding baseball bats” has been resolved by the local authorities in Hsinchu County. The conflict was not, in any way, connected to race or nationality. The incident arose because the teenagers thought they were mocked and stared at by the overseas Filipino workers, and the case went to the police, who transferred it to the district prosecutor’s office where apologies were made and a settlement was reached in the amount of NTD120,000.
There is a rule of law in the Republic of China (Taiwan). OFWs are well-protected by the laws in Taiwan. In fact, our government has pledged to do all the necessary measures to protect the wellbeing of OFWs.
I hope that Doronila has respect for the rule of law, especially international law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Paragraph 1 of Article 73 of the convention states that actions that may be taken by a state while enforcing the law in its EEZ are limited to boarding, inspection, arrest and judicial proceedings. On the other hand, Paragraph 3 of that same Article provides that coastal states may not undertake corporal punishment, of which killing is the most extreme type. Shooting and killing are not allowed under any circumstances.
I write this letter to ensure that Doronila’s speculations, laden with details from unverified reports and hearsays, are clarified so as not to mislead Inquirer readers. It is unfortunate that he was not fully informed of the situation before writing his article.
—PONG CHANG,
director, Press Division,
Taipei Economic and Cultural
Office in the Philippines