Assumed to be poaching
Isorena told a press briefing yesterday that the MCS 3001 fired at the Taiwanese fishing vessel some 80 km off the Balintang Channel at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday.
He said two foreign fishing vessels—one big and one small—had been spotted inside Philippine territory.
“The assumption is that they were poaching in our area,” Isorena said.
“The incident happened within Philippine archipelagic waters,” Perez added.
According to Perez, MCS 3001 personnel tried to board the small fishing boat but the latter began evasive maneuvers and even attempted to ram into the Philippine vessel, prompting the PCG personnel on board to fire warning shots.
“It’s normal procedure for the PCG to fire warning shots if they’re running after ships. You fire warning shots for them to stop,” Perez said.
“Eventually, PCG personnel fired on the machinery portion of the fishing boat to disable it,” he said.
The smaller of the two Taiwanese vessels tried to ram into the MCS 3001 but it apparently missed hitting by only 1 meter.
Asked how many shots were fired by the PCG, Isorena said that had yet to be determined.
“Part of the investigation is to determine how many rounds of ammunition they consumed during the shooting,” he said, adding that the MCS 3001 carries a 30-cal. machine gun, an M14 and an M16.
“We still don’t know if they fired all the firearms
they had on board,” he said.
While the evasive maneuvers were occurring, the MCS 3001 detected the presence of some unidentified gray and white ships which forced the BFAR vessel to withdraw and return to port.
“They were outnumbered so they decided to withdraw,” Isorena said.
“The MCS 3001 was not able to verify what happened to the [Taiwanese] fishing vessel but we now have information that one of the fishermen died,” he said.
The ship personnel actually were not aware that somebody had been hit, Isorena said. It was only after the PCG received a text message concerning the incident from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, Taiwan’s de facto embassy here, that they found out, he said.
He explained that the PCG has a cooperative relationship with Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration (CGA) and is in touch with them.
The Philippines has no diplomatic ties with Taiwan but maintains economic and cultural links.
In Taipei, Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou expressed great concern over the shooting incident and instructed the foreign ministry to demand an investigation from the Philippine government and punish those responsible, the China Post reported yesterday.
Speaking to reporters in Taipei, Taiwan Foreign Minister David Lin condemned the fatal shooting of the Taiwanese fisherman, demanded a full investigation and an apology from the Philippine government.
Even before Lin spoke, China—already involved in a simmering territorial dispute with the Philippines—had already deplored the incident in a clear attempt to make common cause with Taiwan on a matter of nationalistic pride involving disputed maritime territory.
A spokesperson from the Chinese foreign ministry called the fatal shooting a “brutal incident” and echoed Taipei’s demand for an investigation.
China and Taiwan have been ruled separately since the end of the 1949 civil war, although Beijing claims the island.