Thursday, May 16, 2013

Fishingboat Shooting Incident: Is Taiwan Over-reacting? MaxDefense MD


Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Fishingboat Shooting Incident: Is Taiwan Over-reacting?

Since the shooting incident involving a Taiwanese fishing boat and a Philippine law enforcement boat, Taiwan has been in a rage to "bring justice" to the death of one of its fisherman. In the meantime, everything seems normal on the Philippine side, elections has just been concluded and all politicians are more concerned on the vote counting and winning than anything else.

The Taiwanese fishing boat Guang Ta Hsin 28

BFAR patrol boat MCS-3001, jointly manned by PCG & BFAR crew

The Taiwanese are insisting that the Philippines do three things, as follows:
1. make a public formal apology for the "murder" of their fisherman;
2. speed-up of investigations and punishment for the perpetrators;
3. pay compensation to the family of the dead fisherman.

Other than that, they also demand the Philippines to enter into talks with Taiwan regarding fishing rights on overlapping EEZs.

So far the Philippine response as of writing this are:
1. they sympathize with the fisherman's death, but no apology is required;
2. Taiwan should not make matters worse;

Taiwan's 72-hour ultimatum ends this midnight, and if their demands are not met, they will will freeze hiring of Filipino workers and use their economic superiority against the Philippines. 

1. Setting the EEZ Boundaries

According to Searoundus.org, blue color shows Taiwan's EEZ. The green color shows disputed EEZ. The incident happened outside Taiwan's EEZ if based on this photo.

It should be noted that since Taiwan is not recognized as an independent country by the United Nations, they are not a signatory of the UNCLOS although the Philippines adheres to this international agreement as a UN signatory.


Following the laws on EEZ, the overlap of two country's EEZ will require both countries to agree on the boundary. So far it appears that both countries have not made any agreement on the boundary of their EEZ, so Taiwan insists that the waters of overlapping EEZ are disputed.

But most sources on EEZ show that the accepted boundary of both country's EEZ is somewhere mid-way of the overlap, or midway of Orchid Island (Taiwan) and Mavudis Island (Philippines). Basing on this, the general EEZ boundary should be within the middle of Bashi Channel.


2. Location of Incident:

The Taiwanese boat crew insist that they did not enter Philippine jurisdiction area, while the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) - Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) joint crew insist that they were inside their jurisdiction. 

Philippines' Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Director Asis Perez points at the monitor the exact location where Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) intercepted 4 Taiwanese fishing vessels at 43 NM east of Balintang Island, Luzon Strait, during a news conference in Manila May 10, 2013.
(caption and photo from Reuters)

On the Philippine side, the BFAR reported that 4 Taiwanese fishing boats were intercepted by BFAR boat 43nmi east of Balintan Island, well within the Philippine side of the EEZ boundary. Philippine news reports all point to 170nmi from Taiwan southernmost point.

An illustration with Chinese caption from News365 (China)
(photo posted by McKoyzz@PDFF)
Taiwanese and Chinese sources agree that the boats were operating between 164nmi to 180nmi from Taiwan's southmost tip at Erluanbi. A recent report from Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration (CGA) also points the incident to be outside Taiwan's "control border". Below is the said report, from http://www.cga.gov.tw/GipOpen/wSite/public/Attachment/f1368153033684.pdf


(Translation in English):

Boat Operation:
Time: 05.00
Coordinate: 19' 50" N; 123' 24" E
10 nm outside Taiwan control border

Incident:
Time: 09.45
Coordinate: 19' 58" N; 122' 58" E
1.8 nm outside Taiwan control border

Incident Reported to Taiwan Authority:
Time: 13.04
Coordinate: 20' 07" N; 123' 01" E
5 nm insider Taiwan control border

Take note that according to Taiwan's CGA, the Taiwanese control border is close to the northern-most island of Batanes group of islands rather than further north in the middle of the Bashi Channel. 
-----------

Foreign news sources like BBC reported the location as 170nmi from Taiwan, similar to most Philippine sources.

An illustration from AFP shows the incident happened at the Balintang Channel, or inside Philippine EEZ.
Judging from these compilation from Philippine, Taiwanese and 3rd country sources, it is generally accepted that the Taiwanese boats were indeed discovered well inside Philippine jurisdiction. 


3. The Shooting Incident

Using a combination of Taiwan's CGA report and Philippine Coast Guard sources, it appears that 4 Taiwanese fishing boats were spotted by BFAR patrol boat MCS-3001 on May 9, 2013 at around 5:00AM. The boats were hailed and approached by MCS-3001 for boarding and inspection. But instead of stopping to be boarded, all 4 boats moved away towards Taiwan's direction. 

A chase ensued for more than 4 hours, with the BFAR-PCG boat giving warnings to stop using alarms or sirens, and loudspeaker annoucements. The Philippine boat made several attempts to board one of the boats but while doing so other fishing boats attempt to ram the Philippine boat. They were able to avoid collision in all those instances. This chase went on until around 9:30AM when the BFAR-PCG boat made warning shots for them to stop, but the 4 fishing boats did not heed the warning and instead continue to move away.

Around 9:40AM, the Philippine boat decided to disable the machinery of one of the fishing boats, theGuang Ta Hsin 28, by shooting at its engine and machinery room. Several shots were made using its on-board machine gun, hitting the fishing boat in several areas. One of the bullets hit the neck of 65-year old Mr. Huang Shih-Cheng who was staying in the engine room of the fishing boat, killing him in the process.

The boats continued to press on until Taiwanese CGA vessels met them to escort back to Taiwan. During the entire chase, Taiwan CGA was already informed that they were being chased by Philippine law enforcement boat.



According to the son of the dead fisherman, they did not cross waters of Philippine jurisdiction, and that no warning shots were made by the Philippine group.

4. Taiwanese and Philippine Government Actions:

Taiwanese and Chinese media were quick to release news reports on the incident, initially accusing the Philippine Navy, while the Philippine side initially used these reports while awaiting for confirmation from the Philippine Government. The Philippine Navy later denied being involved, later on the Philippine Coast Guard admitted that they did indeed shot the Taiwanese fishing boat.

Taiwan later on released a 72-hour ultimatum demanding for a Philippine apology and action against the PCG-BFAR crew of MCS-3001, which ends at 12:00 midnight today. Philippine officials said they sympathize the death of Mr. Huang but no apology is expected to be given. President Aquino asked the Taiwanese government to calm on the incident while investigations are ongoing. 

With the deadline of the ultimatum nearing, the Philippine government announced that they are looking for possible alternative markets for Philippine labor in case of a clampdown in Taiwan. Taiwan announced to hold military exercises at the "overlapping" EEZ as a show of strength, with strong words indicating that the Philippine Navy is more than a match for their naval capability.

There are no major reactions from other countries, with their common ally, the United States, not making any condemnation remarks against the Philippines.

By around 3:00PM of May 14, the Philippine government imposed a news blackout regarding the issue. There were also reports from Filipino workers in Taiwan of being physically hurt by Taiwanese citizens especially near port areas.

A note from one of the OFWs in Taiwan appealing for restraint and assistance. Left side of the note shows the instructions from employment agency to avoid public exposure.
(photo from Facebook)

5. MaxDefense Opinion on what the Philippines should do:

MaxDefense (MD) believes that all actions made by the Taiwanese are over-reactions only, and were made by their government due to mounting pressure from the political opposition and the citizenry. It would be bad for the political careers of Taiwanese officials to stay mum and do nothing.

It would be worth noting that Taiwanese President Ma has been under pressure in the homefront due to domestic issues like housing, cost of living, and job security. An indecisive action on this issue will spell doom on his political career.

MD believes that the Philippine government is aware and understands the Taiwanese government's actions, the situation of the ruling KMT party. But the Philippines' non-compliance  to Taiwan's demands is a move that we at MD agrees. So far only President Aquino knows the reason of his decision on this issue other than what are obvious.

As for the shooting, MD wonders - a more than 4-hour chase to reach Taiwan's control area at possibly high speed means that the Taiwanese are indeed deep inside Philippine waters. So the BFAR-PCG is indeed in the right place at the right time when they saw the Taiwanese flotilla.

The Philippines should not bow down to Taiwan's demands due to the following reasons:

a. If it believes that what the PCG-BFAR team did was necessary, then why agree to Taiwan? Although bigger than the fishing boats, ramming of the patrol boat while being hailed to halt is itself a show of disrespect to Philippine law enforcement and is a possible evidence of guilt on the Taiwanese part. Also, the Filipino patrol boat captain may have thought of his ship and crew's safety first above all, which is the right thing to do. Shooting the fishing boat's machinery is a way of stopping a runaway suspect, it just happened that somebody was in there who unfortunately died.

b. To maintain integrity its territorial jurisdiction. Apologizing to the Taiwanese will mean accepting that they are correct and our coast guard team was wrong. It also means agreeing that they were inside disputed waters instead of undisputed Philippine territorial waters. The Taiwanese can also start to dispute the sovereign rights of the Philippines in the Balabac Channel and the Batanes group of islands if the Philippines agree to apologize, and further claims of Taiwan to Batanes and the EEZ will strengthen in the process.

c. Philippine pride and prestige is at stake here. There were instances that South Korea, Japan, and Russia did not apologize to China when they shot Chinese fishing boats operating in their jurisdictions. Should the Philippines apologize, it will only make it appear weak and can be bullied by its neighbors and it is expected that Taiwan, China, and everyone else can poach again in Philippine waters in the future

d. The Philippines will lose some, but so is Taiwan. The Taiwanese labor market for the Philippines may be reduced and become less attractive, forcing many Filipinos to leave their jobs there to come back home. They might be jobless, but they can find work again either in the Philippines or in another country. In the mean time, Taiwan will lose cheap and english-proficient workers in the process, and this will affect their manufacturing industry.

e. A change in political strategy when dealing with neighbors will disrupt the usual expected "bow-down" reply streak of the Philippine government. This would be a good start in imposing the Philippines' foreign policies as well to other countries. Maybe this would be the start of an "upgrade" of perception on the Philippine foreign relations scene.
Other points that can be learned from this incident for the Philippines:

1. The Philippines has to give utmost importance to territorial control and integrity, and strict enforcement of its laws and jurisdiction must become a part of its long term national strategy and policy.

2. The importance of supporting its armed forces and civilian maritime law enforcement agencies. The Philippine government must put national defense in its top priority, be given support and budget to modernize and up-arm. For its size, MD believes that the Philippine military is manpower-short and poorly equipped for its economic capacity and population.

3. The Philippine government must strive hard to make further reforms in its economic policies. It should be less dependent on OFW remittances and instead diversify its economy. This includes more in-country industry and jobs for its citizens to minimize the need to send workers to other countries like Taiwan.

4. At least as early as now, the Philippines can show to the world that it can stand on its own without the need to appease its neighbors to survive and continue. Bowing down to Taiwan and losing its pride now will not bring back the lost pride, but this issue will fade and the Philippines can save face by surviving and knowing its neighbors well.


6. Taiwan's Threat of Military Exercises near the Philippines' EEZ

The recent threats of Taiwan to hold military exercises must be looked at by the Philippine government. Although it is not expected for the Taiwanese military to do something bolder than only having exercises, the Philippine government should not be lax and instead be alert for any further contingencies.

This is where the lack of military capability of the Armed Forces of the Philippines shows. In the case of South Korea and Japan, any military exercises made by China in disputed areas are met by deployments of naval and air units as a bold display of capability to resist any possible Chinese action. The Philippine Navy can only monitor with its antiquated equipment, and even if they bring all their assets on the border it will not make the Taiwanese think twice. As they even said earlier, only one of their 22 frigates can annihilate the entire Philippine Navy if shooting starts. That should concern the Philippine government as threats like that should be taken seriously.

On the other hand, Taiwan should be wary of its threats and actions. They have forgotten that the Philippines is one of their few friends in the region against China. Although Taiwan-China relations are in all time high with the Chinese even cheering for the Taiwanese against the Philippines. But until the lines have been set and it continues to be under America's defense and security umbrella, the Philippines is its partner. The Americans are surprisingly silent on this situation, but  they are expected to be already making their moves deep within the Taiwanese and Philippine governments.


7.  Possible American-supplied arms against an American treaty-ally?

Taiwan should also remember that the military assistance rendered by the United States to them is for them to defend from aggression from China. Using American military wares to hurt one of its treaty allies may have implications against Taiwan. Imagine Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates, Kidd-class destroyers and F-16 and F-5 fighters being used against an American ally. Everyone is free to speculate the American reaction. The United States remains as Taiwan's single most trusted arms supplier, with the French reportedly abandoning them in supporting and maintaining the Mirage 2000 fighter planes and Lafayette-class frigates the Taiwanese bought from them.

MaxDefense will add more commentaries later on.

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87 comments:

  1. pffft the taiwanese government is just bluffing. 

    it seems that their leaders are somewhat stuck with the notion that the philippines is still southeast asia's banana republic, and thus can easily be ordered what to do. they wholly forgot the fact that our economy is growing stronger by the day. 

    i can't wait to see their faces when our national basketball team destroys ( again!) their pussy-faced basketballers in the coming jones cup which will be held in taipei a few months from now hahaha! nice blog by the way...

    Reply
    Replies
    1. Watch the WBC!!
      Taiwan almost killed Phil....

    2. i guess phil basketball team cannot longer be in that tournament..dud you read this article phil is ban to enter taiwan?
    3. fuck taiwanese people, they should be ban also in the philippines...kung ako ang Presidente bbigyan ko p ng award ung nakabaril n pinoy!
    4. tama.... bigyan ng medal kesa ung mga MMDA na binabatukan ang pinupuri nyo... etong coastguard buwis buhay.
  2. Great insights & recommendations.
    Reply
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your support. Its people like you who inspire people like us to do better.
  3. you are absolutely correct sir...lets us hope that our leader will think and do the same.
    Reply
  4. nice blog. very detailed. hope the investigations is as clear as this one. **thumbs up
    Reply
  5. 50+ shots to the Taiwanese boat was hardly intended to disable the engine. 

    I'm sorry to break it to you guys, but the Philipines will not be invited to the Jones cup

    Although I agree with you that the Taiwanese basketball team do suck and have lost to the Philipines consistently.

    Lots of thorough research info was done in this article, thumbs up regardless of its bias interpretations.

    Reply
    Replies
    1. Let us wait for investigation to complete. Whoever is at fault should make ammends. If Philippines is indeed at fault, the apologize. But if Taiwan is at fault, do you think they will apologize?
    2. now you say " let us wait for investigation " . but you have already made a conclusion above.
      is that a joke?

    3. KNOW you say "Let us wait for investigation to complete" 
      you have already make a conclusion in this cheap article.
      is that a joke?
      is that an investigation simply before your computer screen ?
      you made the cheap conclusion just before writing this article ? 
      funny.

    4. The conclusion here is that Taiwan is over-reacting. If the Philippine Coast Guard was indeed right or wrong, the reaction coming from Taiwan is unreasonable as well. Investigation is not yet complete, yet your citizens and government would immediately want the Philippine government to apologize. Why not wait for the investigations to finish, besides your representatives will be or are present in these investigations. I did not say the Philippines was right, but Taiwan should not excessively push itself by using its political, military and economic superiority over the Philippines.
    5. If Taiwanese fishing boats invaded your territory, you can arrest them but can not deceive all the people and say that it hit you and killed the fisherman who had nothing in hands.
    6. At above. The Coast guard never said it hit them, but it tried to RAM them. Two different things.

      Brush on your English COMPREHENSION. English is not all grammar. It needs THOROUGH COMPREHENSION and most especially the ability to read BETWEEN the lines

      Heck, you can't even decide how many bullet holes were there. I have seen figures 30,34,54,50,53,59. Even you cannot decide on the size of the Taiwanese fishing boat. How can you prove credibility when you yourselves cannot reconcile the "SUPPOSED" facts?

  6. It is a pity that your banana basketball team is not allowed to play in the coming jones cup...
    Reply
    Replies
    1. Hehe the banana team that gets to win...this is actually advantageous to Taiwan since the winningest team is not around. I hope Taiwan wins while it can. Cheers.
    2. Our national team is too busy preparing for FIBA Asia Championship to even bother joining in your petty little tournament. LOL
    3. ahaha taiwanese government is becoming fascist! dont they know that taiwanese organizers always like to invite the philippine basketball team in the jones cup because its presence generates large income for them? it's not the ph team's loss. but we completely understand. ph team winning over pussy-faced taiwan national team before basketball-crazy taiwanese fans is like adding insult to injury. anyway, there's still the fiba asia so the ph team still has another crack at humiliating taiwan's pussy-faced players.
    4. Whatever looser taiwanese.. EAT your CUP!!! we don't care.. We are not gullible like you guys! thats only a cup.. there will be MORE...
  7. It is high time that the Philippines take it's true role in Asia.We will be stronger than Taiwan & our economy will be bigger in the years to come!
    Reply
  8. totally agree..one taiwanese friend went on badmouthing us upon hearing the news...he didn't know what he was saying. I've talked to him, not mentioning about it, just keeping in touch. and from our conversation, he still seems to be convinced that we are at fault and that we are stupid for not giving an apology. excuse me. i didn't react and just told me to wait for further investigations. but from your perspective, i'm near convinced that we're actually not at fault. pfft, they just love to overreact.
    Reply
    Replies
    1. It would help if you could explain properly the Philippine side. Just say that until investigations are ongoing, nobody can just freely say that somebody is wrong.
  9. sino ba yang taiwan para mag demand???!!!! 
    eh kasalanan nila yan!!! wag tayong paaapi!!! laban!!!

    Reply
  10. Max, may we repost your commentary on Taiwan issue? 

    Howie Severino
    GMA News Online

    Reply
    Replies
    1. Hi Mr. Severino, I have no issues on your request, but I would like to have a special request as well. As implied by the poster below you (sadly he's anonymous), could you include the deletion of Taiwanese media of the Batanes group of islands in their illustration maps as a concern worth highlighting? Batanes is definitely part of the Philippines but it appears that they are consciously removing it to justify their presence in Philippine waters. Please let me know if its possible. Thanks.
    2. Howie, you might want to look at the other side of the story commented in YahooNews.Ph by User Doomsday : (http://ph.news.yahoo.com/philippine-leader-apologises-taiwan-fisherman-death-085612442.html)

      Hi I'm a Taiwanese. Thank you for your reasonable comments. I just would like to share with you some truth without other intentions. 

      Honestly, 96% of Taiwanese support the sanctions to Phillippines in a survey of Yahoo Taiwan. Taiwanese government is actually forced to be tough by the bottom-up outrage. Taiwnese fishermen had histories and long-term resentment with your PCG. "Taiwanese fishermen work hard catching fish for few money, Yet Filipinos don't have to catch fish. They catch Taiwanese for much much more easy money." Every year we can see this kind of complaints on our news.

      And for this time, information from our side doesn't suggest any possibility of confrontational ramming. A little fishing boat with 4 unarmed fishermen dare to ram into a larger patrol ship with a dozen of riflemen and mechine gun is really nonsense. Where could they go if their boat got sunk too? They're in the middle of nowhere. A more reasonable scenario we believe is that the fishing boat tried to flee quickly so that your coastguards had to shoot their engine to stop them. No intention to kill people yes. However, the intention of your PCG usually is detaining boats, arresting Taiwanese, and asking for ransoms. This scenario happens too many times within decades.

      Besides, the outrages quickly escalated after Taiwanese saw your spokeswoman having big smiles on her face while speaking on behalf of your government. Also your president's "One China Policy" also ignite another wave of intolerance. We can't accept any kind of apology while belittled as a local government of China. So far, we insist that the apology should be from your government instead of your people because the murderer is your government not your people. Moreover, because your president's comment of one china policy, we admitted ourselve as a local government of China if we accepted any apologies not officially from your government. Just as similar reason, we insist on the compensation from your government, not the donation from your people. A simple apology and some sincerity to solve the problem from your peresident from the very begining could have solved everything, honestly.

      Many of your people might imagine that Taiwan is a minion of China that deliberately makes incidents to nibble up your territories. That is so not true.

    3. Hi Mr. Taiwanese (sorry I don't know how to call you, you didn't drop your name). Thank you for your comment. It would be worth noting that ramming by unarmed fishing boats against armed large coast guard vessels is rampant in the region. China does it against South Korean or Japanese law enforcement ships. I believe Taiwanese fishing boats do it to. So it is not entirely impossible for the Taiwanese boats to ram the Philippine BFAR-PCG boat. But I won't conclude on that, since we exactly don't know if there was any ramming attempt or actual contact between the two boats.

      MaxDefense understands that Taiwan's government is facing a dilemma from its citizens because of internal issues, but it would also be irresponsible for your government to impose sanctions and threaten the Philippines without concluding the investigations. I believe the Philippine government will apologize and castigate the perpetrators if proven guilty. But now is too early for any apologies. Instead, Taiwan should help in the investigations and not cover the suspect fishermen if they need to be involved for questioning as well. 

      Yes, Taiwan is not a minion of communist China. But recent policies of your government, your closeness to the Chinese Communist government (presently at its highest ever in your history) is already worrying. Filipinos are expecting Taiwan to be in the forefront in the fight against China's aggression but now China and Taiwan are working together against the Philippines other South China Sea claimants. Now you know why it appears that Taiwan is China's minion nowadays?

    4. As for the ransoms, that is a different issue but the Taiwanese public cannot use that as a reason to be angry. Taiwanese fishermen should not be afraid to fish if they are in their own control line. But it appears they are not, so its only normal for the Philippine authorities to hail them and arrest if necessary. Your countrymen should have not run away, instead face the music. There was no intention to kill (murder) your citizen, as you agreed, the intention was to damage the machinery/engine of the fishing boat to make it stop.
    5. mr Taiwanese, your english is good for a taiwanese, a while ago, im reading news articles from Taiwan and i dont understand it.
    6. Mr Taiwanese, the US also has One China policy. Actually... MOST countries in the world do. Why are you not complaining about the US One-China policy or other countries' One-China policy?

      In fact, I wonder why you are not complaining about the US switching from recognizing ROC as the China to the PRC as the China?

    7. Mr. Taiwanese, if you really think that your fishermen are "NOT" violating "ANY" countries territories? how would you explain the report that "SOME" of your fisherman are caught near JAPAN's islands and got apprehended by the japanese? why not "OVER REACT"? on that issue as well or that just proves that your fisherman really have a habit on breaking on someone's backyard?
  11. Great analysis!

    One thing I noticed from the images of Taiwanese media is that they tend to "erase" or blur Batanes -- a political entity of the country (in which it is a province and the people there are citizens of the Philippines). I suspect this is to create the impression of the area being "disputed". So they have to erase any jurisdiction of ours in the islands in the area 

    - a fan

    Reply
    Replies
    1. Your point is noted. I would have discussed about it as I have observed most Taiwanese and Chinese news reports have done it, but I opted not to for some other reasons.
    2. Come out and fight our battle ship tomorrow
      unless you Filipino are just some useless loser who only dare to shoot at our unarmed fishing boat
      poor Filipino coward

    3. I am not the only one to notice it. You go to forums like Timawa.net, Skyscrapercity Philippines and many Filipinos had observed it, too.

      I think we just need to talk about it more and get it out as many it seems, have noticed it

      - a fan

    4. It's me again, I have one more question.

      Do you think the area fell also into our territorial waters? I see you are a retired Navy reserve so I think you may be able to answer it.

      I have read that the territorial waters and EEZ are measured from the BASELINE, now the question is, how far was the incident actually from the BASELINE? I have been trying to estimate pictures and it seems that it fell inside our territorial waters, not just EEZ. I know it happened 43 NM from Balintan island but how far was it from the Baseline?

    5. 43nmi appears to be outside the territorial waters, but inside the EEZ. The baseline is just somewhere along the coast of Balintan island. What Taiwan was saying is that the EEZ in that portion is overlapping with theirs and is disputed so until it is not settled, they can fish there anytime. I think this is wrong.
  12. ahaha taiwanese government is becoming more and more fascist! dont they know that taiwanese organizers always like to invite the philippine basketball team in the jones cup because its presence generates large income for them? it's not the ph team's loss. but we completely understand. ph team winning over pussy-faced taiwan national team before basketball-crazy taiwanese fans is like adding insult to injury. anyway, there's still the fiba asia so the ph team still has another crack at humiliating taiwan's pussy-faced players.
    Reply
  13. fuck the taiwanese government...they're just using the death of their fisherman as a reason to make our government agree on their demand to fish on our waters. 


    Taiwan don't steal our fish!!

    Reply
    Replies
    1. Dear friend,
      Please understand We just want the truth.That's it. we don't intend to fish on your water.

    2. But your poachers constantly do. You keep stealing. Also from Japan and recently Vietnam too.
  14. " The Americans are surprisingly silent on this situation, but they are expected to be already making their moves deep within the Taiwanese and Philippine governments. "
    Indeed! they sent Vin Diesel & Sarah Jessica Parker.

    Reply
    Replies
    1. The Americans just have too much on their plate today. But it is sad that Taiwan, a non-UN nation would act so proud unless of course that actually Big daddy China (mainland) is using them to get to the Philippines. Let us see how this escalates.
  15. Thank you for this information. I've seen several videos of Taiwan outrage towards the issue (even burning a Philippine flag) through our local news. Filipinos are Talking now through networking sites, emotional but with a little info. about the topic. After reading this (and the follow up soon). I am confident that we are on the right side. I'm looking forward for tomorrow's news about the issue, additional details and our Goverment's statement. Hope our President will face this strongly and be the leader we are hoping him to be. Thank you again for this blog. -JuanPinoy
    Reply
  16. its shows that the Philippines are truely blessed in natural resources thats why taiwan and china kept trespassed in our territory and they want to envaid us by doing such immature tactics... tsk!tsk!
    Reply
  17. Replies
    1. Hi Chilion Wang, thanks for the link for that interesting map. But in the map I have noticed, why are the Batanes Islands not given its own EEZ? They shouldnbe subject to their own EEZ, meaning if we follow Taiwan's interpretation, Philippine fishing boats can also fish very close to Orchid Island and Taiwan mainland (which I dont't think Taiwan would agree with). The problem is the interpretation of the overlap since there is no agreement yet between Taiwan and the Philippines on how where to cut the lines. Im not really sure if Taiwan is subject to adhere to UNCLOS since it is a non-signatory government. If ever this issue has settled or die down, it is best for both countries to agree to have a clear division.
    2. I rechecked just now. The Philippines' northernmost inhabited island, the Mavudis Island, is applicable to be given its own EEZ. If we follow 200nmi EEZ prescription by the UNCLOS, it means the overlapping of EEZ goes until the Taiwanese city of Nanao on its eastern seaboard, outside Penghu island, and outside the territorial waters of Taiwan off Fangshan, Fangliao, and almost half your western seaboard and your entire soithern seaboard. From Orchid Island, 200nmi is until outside the territorial waters off Cagayan and Ilocos Norte provinces just outside Camiguin. Will Taiwan agree of Philippine fishing boats to fish just virtually everywhere outside Taiwan's 12nmi territorial waters?
    3. I would like to point out that.
      Since our governments have no an agreement for the overlapped EEZ. I don't agree with Philippine side's location explanation.
      In my opinion, this fishing boat is inside the Taiwan-Philippine disputed area. And the location is more close to Philippine than Taiwan.

      I agree that our government needs an agreement to be both coast guard's SOP to avoid similar incident.

      Here's your country's baseline map. Our fishing boat didn't enter your country's territory.(baseline+12 miles is your territory.)

      http://www.un.org/Depts/los/LEGISLATIONANDTREATIES/PDFFILES/MAPS/phl_mzn88_2012.jpg

      And please read this article. This is about international law. Your article didn't mention the law PGCs disobey.

      http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/781940.shtml#.UZRz76Ihqlb

      the content below is from above link
      "According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), coastal countries have the right of hot pursuit in their territorial waters. It grants coastal states the right to pursue and arrest ships escaping to international waters.

      According to the Article 111 of the UNCLOS, "the hot pursuit of a foreign ship may be undertaken when the competent authorities of the coastal state have good reason to believe that the ship has violated the laws and regulations of that state. Such pursuit must be commenced when the foreign ship or one of its boats is within the internal waters, the archipelagic waters, the territorial sea or the contiguous zone of the pursuing state, and may only be continued outside the territorial sea or the contiguous zone if the pursuit has not been interrupted." 

      As a nod to the territorial principle, "the right of hot pursuit ceases as soon as the ship pursued enters the territorial sea of its own state or of a third state." 

      Hot pursuit is the most powerful right that international law grants to coastal countries over illegal operations of foreign ships in their waters. 

      However, the recent incident took place at 20 degrees north latitude and 123 degrees east longitude. It's not in the territorial waters of the Philippines, but in the overlapping region of exclusive economic zones.

      The Philippines are not qualified to exert the right of hot pursuit in the region. 

      Even it could, the hot pursuit right is not applied to attacks by heavy weapons like the machine gun used in the latest case."

    4. This is Chinese/Taiwanese media source. Doctored and INACCURATE and NOT based on UNCLOS 

      We have INTERNATIONAL AGENCY sources

    5. Chilian, yes the events happened inside Philippine EEZ. THe problem with the so-called "overlap" in EEZ is that there is no agreement, so the Philippines has legal jurisdiction on that area since Taiwan is not a UN member nor a signatory of UNCLOS. The absence of an agreement strengthens the Philippine side since only Taiwan claims it is disputed while it clearly shows that the Philippines is following UNCLOS. With regards to the hot pursuit issue, it may be applicable to the Philippines as a UNCLOS signatory, but I'm not sure if Taiwan can use such ruling since, as I said many times, Taiwan is not bounded by such as a non-signatory. 

      With your usage of communist Chinese sources, it only shows one thing, that Taiwan is clearly leaning towards communist China now instead of your usual stand as a defender of democracy together with the Philippines in this part of the world. As an article in another website say, Taiwan is becoming an unworthy US ally. Let's see what happens if Taiwan continue to escalate the issue by military pressure using American weapons on an American treaty-ally.




    6. I don't like to refer to China information source.
      But Taiwan has only a few English information source. And no one mentions the law concern.
      That's why I need to refer to the China's information source.

      However,I am very disappointed.
      You didn't point out any incorrect about that China's information source.

      Did you know Taiwan have similar issues with Japan. And Last month Japan cut a deal with Taiwan to be the solution for those issues. Even Japan has the same "One-China" policy. Japan still support Taiwan to be a country. 

      But you think that Taiwan is not a country so that Taiwan have no right to apply to international law in this incident. That is you and your government's point. For your interests, you know we'll not to seek China's support also we can't get UN's support due to no signatory.

      So your government could use Taiwan's legal status to get your interests. right? You know China can stand for Taiwan in UNCLOS. And that is China's wish. But we'll not do that. 

      That's why you didn't take it seriously about PCG's possible critical violation the Law of Sea.

      If Philippine can do the same thing as Japan, we both get benefits form this area with lower cost.

  18. Nice blog.

    You are right, we don't need to bow-down to Taiwan. We are not weak and stupid. If our government apologize to Taiwan, China and Taiwan will not respect our law anymore.

    BTW, please remember that Filipinos also doing that in Indonesian waters. We are also disrespecting the law of Indonesia. ;)

    Reply
    Replies
    1. Poaching on somebody's waters happens everywhere. But if caught and asked to stop for boarding, inspection and possible arrest, it is always best not to resist.
  19. Come out and fight our battle ship tomorrow
    unless you Filipino are just some useless loser who only dare to shoot at our unarmed fishing boat
    poor Filipino coward

    Reply
    Replies
    1. I really doubt your "battle ship" would be much of a threat. You can't really do nothing without your big brother China or should I say your main land. Taiwan is not yet an independent country due to China enforcing One-china policy.
    2. It was the Taiwanese who were cowards. Your fishermen were caught fishing in PHL waters. They quickly escaped to avoid being arrested. In that case, your fishermen are like petty criminals who scarper at the sight of policemen.
    3. Balooney. Waste your gas. Not worth our time.

      And besides, ignorning those ships and F-16 (which by Karma, crashed) will make you look like fools and AGGRESSORS in the eyes of the international community.


    4. *You can't really do anything*. was my comment
  20. 等你家莫名其妙的被殺了一個人，再來評論台灣人是否反應過度。

    機槍連開54子彈(這只是有掃射到漁船上的)，
    菲律賓政府還可以很不要臉的說，
    台灣漁船要衝撞菲律賓防衛艦，
    (有哪個白癡在沒有武裝的情況下會攻擊有武裝的軍艦)

    請不要覺得台灣人民反應過度
    我們只是對菲律賓政府的輕挑、敷衍、說謊、地痞的行為感到不滿，
    他們極度囂張，不具人道意識的開槍，導致了這樣一件事件。

    有一句古話:上行下效 
    這是指說處於上位的人如何做事情，下位的人就會相爭著去模仿，
    必須說，菲律賓這個國家給我們的感覺就是，
    上面的人貪污、腐敗、無能、自大，
    其國家、組織、人民也相繼的競爭模仿，
    品格之差...

    Reply
    Replies
    1. Via Google Translate:
      "You somehow killed a person, and again comment Taiwanese overreact.

      Machine gun fired 54 bullets (this is just strafe fishing vessels),
      Philippine government can also be shameless,
      Taiwan fishing boat collision Philippine defense ship,
      (Which idiot in the case of armed attack armed warships)

      Do not think the people of Taiwan overreact
      We are just on the Philippine government's frivolous, perfunctory, lying the local ruffians behavior dissatisfied,
      They are extremely arrogant and do not have the shot of humanitarian consciousness, leading to such an event.

      There is an old saying: leading by example.
      This refers to people how to do things is in its upper position, the next bit will be scrambling to imitate,
      It must be said that the Philippines this country gives us the feeling is,
      The above corruption, corruption, incompetence, arrogance,
      Countries, organizations, people have also competitive imitation,
      The difference of character ..."

    2. Google Translate sucks.. 
  21. The Philippines government is lying.
    (1) They said the Taiwanese fishing boat tried to collide their coast guard's boat. It is LOGICALLY impossible because the fishing boat is unarmed and has a slower speed than the coast guard's. Also, the investigation found that there are no marks due to collision on the fishing boat.
    (2) The coast guard of Philippine said they just wanted to warning. However, there are more the 50 bullet holes on all over the fishing boat. Also the fishing boat is chased for more than one hour, which showed that the coast guard was trying to kill Taiwanese fishmen rather than warning them.
    (3) Every country can claim 200 nautical miles for its EEZ. If some counties' EEZs overlay to each other, they need to negotiate and make an treatment. However, the last few decades, the Philippines government refuse to negotiate with Taiwan. Thus, in this incident, both of Taiwan and the Philippines have the right to claim the position is in their own territory, which makes to dispute it happened in whose EEZ is pointless.
    (4) The Philippines coast guards claimed that they have the video information of incident. However, they are not willing to announce it publicly.

    ALL WE WANT IS THE TRUTH!! Let the Philippines government come out and say the truth to the public.

    Reply
    Replies
    1. Hi. As I said in my earlier replies to your fellow Taiwanese:
      1. There might not be any actual ramming between the fishing boat and patrol boat. This is still being investigated. But it is not impossible for the small fishing boat to ram the small patrol boats. China has done that. Taiwanese and other country's fishermen can also do that if they want to. A boat does not need to be armed for it to resist arrest and ram any boat. You can see youtube for some examples.
      2. The shooting itself was not a warning. It was an attempt to destroy/damage the engine of the fishing boat. Several warnings were already made before the actual shooting. This includes sirens, light, loudspeaker announcement, hand gestures, and warning shots. There was no intention to kill the fishermen, if they did then everyone should have already died and your fishing boat already sunk.
      3. The Philippines did not refuse to negotiate. But your country is a special case since Taiwan is not a UN member and is not a signatory of the UNCLOS. Also, the northernmost tip of the Philippines should have a 200nmi EEZ as well. So if the overlap is to be followed, then we can claim and fish in your entire southern seaboard, and more than half of your country's eastern and western seaboards. I don't think Taiwan will agree on that.
      4. If a video is present, it will be used for the investigation. Your investigation team will be included in when this starts, and they can verify the video. The Philippine government is not escalating the situation so the video will be only shown to the public when the time is right.

      The truth will come out after the investigation. Let it finish first before handing down your verdict. No apology, no compensation until a judgement is made.

  22. 因為今天台灣這邊死了人，然後菲律賓從頭到尾都在裝死，沒有誠意的道歉，沒有賠償，沒有實質作為，全都在把台灣當傻子，所以台灣去演習也是正常的，本來台灣就該展現軍力，這樣周邊國家才不會繼續認為台灣不吭聲，是好欺負的傻蛋
    Reply
    Replies
    1. Via Google translate:
      "Taiwan dead people, then the Philippines from start to finish in the play dead, there is no sincere apology, no compensation, no real as all try to fool Taiwan, so Taiwan exercise is normal, originally in respectshow military power, so that the neighboring countries will not continue to believe that Taiwan does not say anything, bullied stupid."

  23. only a video can help us all. God bless the Philippines and Taiwan. Hope for peaceful solution but if youre really wrfreak let karma guide you to your dooms.
    Reply
  24. Your government yesterday said,, there is a positive agreement on both sides.. Then after few hours they were backpedaling, your president need his trust rating to climb from 13%,,, and he thinks that this is the best way... All of you are fed with your bias media....
    Reply
  25. Here is the latest incident report from the Philippine Coast Guard regarding the incident.

    (excepts below taken from Manila Bulletin Online: http://www.mb.com.ph/article.php?aid=12279&sid=1&subid=2#.UZSSjrU9GSp

    PCG describes Balintang Channel incident - 'like a scene from an action movie'

    The way the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) described the May 9 shooting of Taiwanese fishermen off the coast of Bantayan island was like telling a scene out of an action movie: a government vessel precariously dodging two fishing boats that tried to sink the law enforcer's ship as they engaged the bad guys in a high seas chase.

    A three-page, incident report of the PCG that was obtained by the Manila Bulletin from a PCG insider showed how the Taiwanese fishermen violently and dangerously tried to evade their arrest after they were caught poaching at the sea located some 39 nautical miles off Bantayan Island.

    The report, which was corroborated by a video on the maritime incident in Balintang Channel last May 9 that resulted to the death of a 65-year-old Taiwanese fisherman, was among the documents submitted by the PCG to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) since the bureau commenced its investigation on Wednesday. 

    “One of the Taiwanese vessel maneuvered to ramp our starboard bow. This unit executed reverse [gear] to avoid collision,” said the PCG report. 

    Based on the report, the MCS-3001, a 35-meter vessel jointly manned by the Coast Guard and personnel from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), set sail in the northern part of Batanes last May 8, 2013, to conduct seaborne patrol and monitoring control and surveillance against illegal fishing. 

    The following day, the PCG-BFAR spotted several radio beacon with two floating buoy markers some 39 nautical miles, east of Balintang Islands. They suspected that the buoys were long lines of Taiwanese fishing vessels. Soon after spotting the buoys, the PCG-BFAR was able to find the location of the Taiwanese fishing boats. 

    They claimed that the Taiwanese fishermen had resisted to stop from their tracks while local sea authorities repeatedly fired warning shots in mid-air and blared their vessel's horn at the foreigners. 

    “While on meeting situation, this unit then sounded warning through PA system and blow horn for the Taiwanese fishing vessel to stop for the conduct of fishing.. [The PCG] fired warning shots to alert the fishing vessel until the fishing vessel stopped and one of the crew of the fishing vesseel went outside,” the PCG said. 

    But when the MCS-3001 vessel of PCG-BFAR was almost alongside of one of the fishing boat named Guang Ta Hsin-28, the PCG claimed that the engine of the Taiwanese vessel whirred to life, and the boat manuevered backward before speeding forward and it almost collided with the government ship's stern.

    The patient Philippine authorities fired another round of warning shots but the Taiwanese vessel resisted to stop and engaged the PCG-BFAR in a high-speed sea chase. As a result, the commanding officer of the MCS-3001 ordered to open fire at Guang Ta Hsin-28 to disable its engine but accidentally killed Taiwanese fisherman named Hung Shih-cheng. 

    “To stop the fishing vessel, this unit announced to fire for effects the engine side section of said Taiwanese fishing vessel to immobilize her [boat] and stop her [boat] engine,” the report said. 

    While chasing after Guang Ta Hsin, the PCG-BFAR spotted at least two, new unidentified boats - one white and one gray – and this prompt them to disengage from their chase and leave as they were already outnumbered. 

    (more on the link to Manila Bulletin's site).


    Reply
    Replies
    1. I would like to know that what is the shooting SOP of the PCG.
      In this news, it said when Guang Ta Hsin-28 tried to escape, the boat almost collided the government ship's stern. But Guang Ta Hsin-28 didn't intend to ram the government ship, right? PCG shoot the boat not because Guang Ta Hsin-28 tried to attack PCG.
      They shoot to try to stop it? I don't know why it's necessary to get the risk to shoot someone to death only for stopping a possible thief. I don't know your PCGs SOP. Please help to show your PCG's SOP for opening fire in the situations.

  26. Interesting insights.
    Reply
  27. Hi Max, can I have your permission to share this? I like the informative format and the exchanges of views here(except the basketball topic =) ). I hope all will be resolved fairly and justifiable for both country's sake.
    Reply
    Replies
    1. sure no problem. If you like you can link this blog to your page/site/wall.
  28. Taiwan is acting in an uncivilized manner encouraging its citizens to to not even sell food to Filipinos there. YOu may be an old culture but you are far from being civilized. 

    What if we did that to your people here? You are lucky we are a friendly people. And yes, more civil. YOur President is clearly doing this just to raise his pathetic 13% approval rating. What a scoundrel! Was he one of those people in your congress before who joined fist fights before? Ah well... It is expected from a barbarian.



    Reply
    Replies
    1. If it is so. Why some of your people go there to earn money?
    2. Dont worry men if the government ban sending laborers to your country and look for other country. The Philippine are not the only one affected. Your manufacturing base economy relying on cheap and english speaking labors will be greatly affected. C'mon admit it or not it will hurt you in the long run. Mat i ask you are you a country or even a sovereign state to over react and demand too much? Nope! therefore stop acting like a kid!
    3. Ok, not all Taiwanese approve of the not selling food to the Pinoys there.

      Regarding the workers, not only Filipinos go there, Malaysians and Indonesians also and apparently they already know how to speak Mandarin, they also do it for the same amount, gets?
      Basically why Taiwan is so brave.

      Besides, we are NOT a country of laborers. I do not and will not believe that.

      And yes, I am Taiwanese-Filipino. I do understand why their reaction is like that.
      In Taiwan, no matter how petty something is they resolve it immediately, IMMEDIATELY.
      As for our country, it's sad but we still have time to procrastinate no matter how urgent the matter is. You know it's true even if you don not admit it.

      Besides, we are more of a kid. A little insult from a celebrity and she's banned from entering our country again. A line from a TV show, given that it is insulting, we turn it into a big issue ask for an apology, hello, think again...

      I think we should look at the mirror first before saying that Taiwan is overreacting.

      A lot of Filipinos in general only knows OUR side of the story what about Taiwan's side of the story?

      Besides, all the evidence is already there 72 hours is more than ample to resolve it, don't you think?

  29. If Taiwanese fishing boats invaded your territory, you can arrest them but can not deceive all the people saying that it hit you, and killed the fisherman who had nothing in hands.
    Reply
  30. To all Taiwanese reading this blog: Always keep in mind that YOU ARE NOT even a Country, or sovereign state to react too much on this issue. It is not even a matter of national security because the coast did not enter your territorial water. Your fishermen who entered and try to escape our maritime law enforcers with in our Exclusive Economic Zone. The President send his apology, if you cant accept it. FINE! Your arrogance and ignorance that shows on your excessive action are monitored by United Nations and the free world. They observed your excessive and brutal action. Now between Philippines and Taiwan who will look rowdy. I know you are very careful with regards with your international image. But you are tainting it with your overreaction. And for you President Ma Ying-jeou. Grow up!
    Reply
  31. Taiwanese and even Chinese fishing boats have been looting into Philippine territory for years. And even locals from Sta.Ana Cagayan and nearby islands attested me way back the end of March 2012 during the long Philippine holiday due to observance of the holy week when they showed me a big fishing vessel apparently from Taiwan well within the Philippine territory passed Batanes and Babuyanes group.. about just a measly 17-km off-shore Sta.Ana Cagayan. They have told me that these intruders do this usually when PCG is not in patrol. I am inclined to believe that the Taiwanese illegal poachers where at the wrong place at the wrong time when the Philippine Coast Guard is right on at their noses.

    Taiwanese people are free to enter our territory but make sure you do not trample our sovereignty.

    Reply
  32. Great! I finally found an informative article about this issue. Good research and analysis. You obviously know what you're talking about. I share most of the viewpoints that you laid out here, very rational. The truth will come out in good time, I have no doubt.

    Thanks for writing this blog. Kudos, Max!

    Maria Makabayan

    P.S. Regrettably, I read several comments above that are shallow, emotional, and plainly reflect lack of comprehension. Reacting without understanding, eh? Let's pray for peace as well as enlightenment for everyone in the dark.


    Reply
  33. http://bulatlat.com/main/2012/11/23/ofw-jumps-from-building-in-taiwan-to-escape-rape-murder-attempt/

    http://www.rappler.com/world/8188-taiwan-diplomat-suspended-for-abusing-2-filipina-maids

    http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/285552/pinoyabroad/crime/taiwanese-ex-lawmaker-found-guilty-of-raping-pinay-housekeeper

    http://jcmirand.tumblr.com/post/700739280/kaohsiung-stella-maris-and-st-josephs


    Reply
  34. Thanks for this article! And yes, Taiwan is over-reacting. Wag dapat magpatalo ang Pilipinas!
    Reply
  35. Informative, now it's clear that somehow, Taiwans media is making the situation worse. Showing a map with a blurred part of Batanes.
    Reply


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