Philippines-Taiwan issue

Been reading about the Philippines-Taiwan issue and this is so far the best read that I can share with you!

From Na Li-Sou of Apostleship of the Sea - Taiwan, CRBC - ECMI and Diocese of Taichung, Taiwan (Filipino Priest in Taiwan)

Here is my PERSONAL ANALYSIS to the situation.

The area in the sea where the shooting happened belongs to the Philippines. In the past many Taiwanese fishermen were caught in that areas poaching where many neighboring countries claimed also to be their own. The Taiwanese fishermen, during the incident happened, were poaching in the Philippine seas and according to report that the Taiwanese fishing vessel was about to ram the PCG's vessel that prompted the PCG to open fire but unfortunately the skipper was hit and died. Now, Taiwan used the incident (firing) to blow it up in Taiwan media to get the public (Taiwanese) sympathy and to boast the low rating of the president.

The Taiwan Central Government imposes the initial 4 demands.

1. Apology of the Philippine Government to the family of the victim and to Taiwanese people,

2. to compensate the family of the victim,

3. to investigate the incident swiftly and bring the perpetrator/s to justice, and

4th is to discuss the agreement on fishing industry.

Now, the 1st three demands had been blew up in the media to stir the people's emotion and sympathize the family of the victim. The public's uproar for justice was considered as public support to the effort of the Taiwan government to bring pressure to the Philippines to sit down and discuss the fishing activity in the area which Taiwan claims as an Overlapping Exclusive Economic Zone because the area is still within the 200 nautical miles from its coastal baseline. But according to UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) regarding the overlapping of EEZ generally, any point within an overlapping area defaults to the nearest state, and to this the nearest State is the Philippines and that's what we called the Balintang Channel.

The shooting incident happened in Philippine territorial waters in-between Basco, Batanes and Babuyan Islands. Only that a fisherman was shot and died that Taiwan made it as an excuse to justify and cover-up the incursion and poaching activity of the taiwanese fishing vessel's in Philippine waters.

Now, Taiwan Government did not accept the apology because they want Pinoy to sit down on fishing agreement which is what they really wanted. To pressure further, Taiwan imposed the 8 ministerial sanctions against the Philippines. Killing is a crime and punishable by law and that the PCG should be investigated and if found guilty should face the consequence, it was the violation of the 5th Commandment of God. Stealing is a crime and punishable by the Law, violation of the 7th Commandment of God. The fishing vessel had committed the 7th commandment "stealing the fish in the Philippine waters" and the 10th commandment which is "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods!"

The incident could have been prevented if the Taiwan fishing vessel respected the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and did not poach in Philippine waters. I hope that people of Taiwan will understand the real issue and not come to judge base on what the local media is telling.
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