MANILA, Philippines — Officials of the Philippines and of China have met to discuss compensation over the ramming of a Filipino fishing boat by a Chinese fishing vessel near the Recto Bank in 2019.
Justice Undersecretary Adrian Sugay said Tuesday that officials met with representatives of China’s Bureau of Fisheries on Monday, June 7. "The discussions were mainly on the matter of compensation and moral damages," he added.
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“The representatives of the owners of the Chinese fishing vessel undertook to formally inform the owner and crew members of the F/B Gem-Ver1 of their counter-proposal,” Sugay also said.
No other details were given. "It may be better to wait for the formal counter-proposal and to discuss the matter directly with the owner and the crew members of the F/B Gem-Ver1," the DOJ official also said.
Philippine panel raises failure to assist Gem-Ver crew
Sugay said the Philippine panel, composed of the DOJ, Department of Foreign Affairs and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources officials, reiterated the claim of the owner and crew of Gem-Ver.
“The Philippine panel invited attention to the fact that the crew members of the Chinese fishing vessel, in violation of relevant international conventions and customary international maritime law, failed to extend assistance to persons who were clearly in distress at sea,” he added.
China's Bureau of Fisheries agreed to coordinate with the DOJ to ensure that the owner and crew of the sunken boat will be fairly compensated.
Prosecutors in September 2020 set an amount of P12 million or nearly $250,000 as payment to the 22 fishermen of the GemVer. It would cover repair costs, lost income and civil and moral damages.
The fishermen were left at sea by the Chinese vessel that rammed their boat on the night of June 9, 2019. It was only through a passing Vietnamese vessel that they were rescued.
The incident drew public outrage in the Philippines despite President Rodrigo Duterte playing it down as a "little maritime accident".
Two years on, the Philippines continues to file diplomatic protests over the presence of Chinese ships in the West Philippine Sea. — Kristine Joy Patag with reports from Christian Deiparine