Kyodo News InternationalMay 16, 2013 04:45
Taiwan holds drill in S. China Sea, escalating row with Philippines
Taiwanese navy war ships and coast guard vessels held a joint exercise Thursday in disputed waters where a Taiwanese fisherman was shot dead last Friday by the Philippine Coast Guard, but President Ma Ying-jeou said Taipei intends to deal with Manila peacefully.
The exercise, which involved a fighter jets, destroyer and three frigates, was part of the measures Taiwan took to show its dissatisfaction with Manila's "inadequate" response to its demands over the shooting incident and intended to demonstrate its determination to protect Taiwanese fishermen operating in the area.
Coast guard officials said one of the vessels passed 20 degree north latitude line, which Taiwan unilaterally draws as the southernmost point where its coast guard vessels patrol.
Ma, in his first public comments since Taiwan imposed sanctions on the Philippinesthe previous day, was quoted by the Central News Agency as saying Taiwan is a peace-loving country and will continue to deal with the Philippine government in a peaceful way.
He added, however, he hopes Manila will realize it has to act responsibly. "Killing unarmed innocent people on the high seas is not an act tolerated by any civilized nation," he said.
Meanwhile, a team composed of 14 Taiwanese investigators arrived in Manila to probe the incident, which occurred some 170 kilometers south of Taiwan in an area where the exclusive economic zones claimed by Taiwan and the Philippines overlap.
However, Philippine Justice Secretary Leila de Lima ruled out a joint investigation, saying, "We have our own process" to follow.
Commenting on Taiwan's military drills in disputed waters, Philippine navy chief Vice Adm. Jose Luis Alano told reporters the navy has not monitored any such activities, but would fulfill its mandate of "securing the territory and defending our sovereignty."
Ma, speaking at a conference of the International Law Association, accused the Philippine Coast Guard personnel of using "excessive force" when they shot dead 65-year-old Hung Shih-cheng.
Describing their actions as "outrageous behavior," he said the attack on Hung's fishing boat was "without justification whatsoever, either under traditional international law or the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea."
Two days after the shooting, Taipei made four demands and gave Manila 72 hours to comply. They included a formal apology, compensation for the fisherman's family, punishment of those responsible for the shooting and talks on the signing of a bilateral fishery agreement to help prevent similar incidents.
"These demands are fully supported by international law and practice," Ma was quoted by CNA as saying. "(But) their response two days ago failed to meet the four demands of our government, so we decided to launch 11 peaceful sanctions."
On Wednesday, Taiwan announced it would suspend importation of Filipino workers, recall its de facto ambassador in the Philippines, ask Manila's representative in Taipei to return home and advise Taiwanese citizens not to travel to the Philippines.
It also suspended high-level economic exchanges and business activities, agricultural and fishery cooperation, technological research exchanges and cooperation, aviation talks and visa-free privileges for Philippine visitors.
Philippine presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda on Thursday defended his government's response, saying Manila has "gone the extra mile" to address Taipei's concerns.
"We have acted uprightly and decently as a respectable member of the international community," Lacierda said.
He said Amadeo Perez, an emissary sent by President Benigno Aquino to Taipei, has apologized and conveyed to Taiwanese authorities "our readiness to give financial assistance to the family of (the victim) as a token of solidarity and as an expression of sympathy by the Filipino people for the demise of Mr. Hung."
Taiwan Premier Jiang Yi-huah on Wednesday dismissed Manila's compensation promise as amounting to turning over "donations received from commiserating citizens of the Philippines" and demanded the Philippine government itself formally apologize, assume full responsibility and compensate the victim's family.
Presidential Office spokeswoman Li Jia-fei said Wednesday that Ma Ying-jeou was "strongly dissatisfied" with the Philippine government's handling of the case, feeling it has shown "insufficient sincerity." Taiwan Foreign Minister David Lin refused to meet with the envoy but sent a lower-level official instead.
On Taiwan's advice to its citizens not to travel to Taiwan, Lacierda said, "It does not do anyone any good. Travel, from their end, will be affected as well. Their airlines will be affected. So does it help both countries when you do a travel ban?"
==Kyodo
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/kyodo-news-international/130516/taiwan-holds-drill-s-china-sea-escalating-row-philippi
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