TECO rejoinder to Bondoc’s Aug 12 column

I am writing in response to an article written by Mr. Jarius Bondoc, entitled ‘So sorry for guarding our coasts against you intruders,’ published by The Philippine STAR on August 12, 2013.

At the onset, we would like to strongly reiterate that the crew members of Guang Da Xing no. 28 (GDX28) are neither “intruders” nor “poachers.” The May 9 shooting incident happened in waters within the overlapping exclusive economic zones (EEZ) of the two countries. Just as the Philippines has its EEZ, the Republic of China (Taiwan), too, has its own. However, despite this fact, the innocent and unarmed fishermen aboard GDX28 were still fired upon by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), resulting to the death of fisherman Hung Shi-cheng.

It should be noted that this act is indisputably a violation of the UNCLOS Article 73 which states that a country’s law enforcement procedures in its EEZ are limited to boarding, inspection, arrest, and judicial proceedings. The same Article states that coastal states may not undertake corporal punishment, and that shooting and killing are not allowed under any circumstances.

In sharp contrast, three Filipino fishermen on a drifting sampan were rescued by the ROC (Taiwan) Coast Guard Administration patrol vessel in Taiwan’s waters last July 21, 2013. The Filipino fishermen were offered refuge and unconditional help based on universal humanitarian principles.

Mr. Bondoc should realize that because of the issues posed by our overlapping EEZs, there is an urgent need for fishery talks in order to better protect both of our countries’ fishermen.

We also disagree with Mr. Bondoc’s groundless statement that “there was…no reciprocal move by Taiwan to prevent its fishermen from trespassing Philippine waters, as they have been doing for decades.” We hope he can do something reciprocally by looking at the facts squarely and recognizing the undisputable existence of our overlapping EEZs.

In the mean time, the ROC will “continue routine patrols of its EEZ to the south to ensure the fishing operations rights and safety of its fishermen,” as the ROC foreign minister David Y. L. Lin pointed out in a news conference last August 8.

Based on the traditional friendship between Taiwan and the Philippines, the ROC hopes for the speedy normalization of relations, as cooperative and reciprocal relations between the two countries are being restored. â€” CHANG PONG, Press Director, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines