PHL assures compensation to families of Vietnamese fishermen killed in Pangasinan sea chase

The Philippine government on Thursday assured the Vietnamese government that the families of the Vietnamese fishermen who died in an incident with the Philippine Navy will be properly compensated.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana gave Vietnamese Minister of National Defense Ngo Xuan Lich the assurance from  President Rodrigo Duterte during their bilateral meeting, the Department of Defense said in a statement.

The two discussed the incident off the coast of Pangasinan involving a Philippine Navy vessel and Vietnamese fishermen that resulted in the loss of lives. In the meeting, Lorenzana extended his sincere apologies to Lich.

He  also mentioned that the Philippine Navy personnel are being investigated by the concerned authorities.

Lorenzana assured his Vietnamese counterpart that the case will be expediently resolved in a manner that is satisfactory to all parties.

Lich, in response, suggested the establishment of a concrete mechanism between the navies of both countries to prevent a similar incident from happening in the future to which Lorenzana agreed.

DND public affairs chief Arsenio Andolong clarified that the offer of compensation is not an admission of guilt on the part of Philippine government.

“Not necssarily admission of guilt but kung may lumabas na may nagkamali ay ‘yun ang mangyayari dun talaga, and the Secretary naman expressed his sincerest apologies for that,” he told reporters.

During the meeting, the two officials also vowed to further strengthen defense relations, particularly naval cooperation.

They discussed possible ways to enhance both countries’ defense cooperation that has significantly improved since 2010 and greatly benefited both countries in the past few years.

“Our defense cooperation with Vietnam has been very positive and we intend to build on those successes,” Lorenzana said.

He said Philippines may also consider tapping the expertise of Vietnam in developing the country’s defense industry as he noted how Vietnam was able to develop its own military industry.

The two officials also discussed the possibility of increasing the existing opportunities for exchange of senior and junior officers, information and intelligence exchange, joint training, and addressing non-traditional security challenges such as humanitarian assistance and disaster response, piracy, illegal drugs, and terrorism.
 
They have delegated senior defense officials from both parties to coordinate more closely and discuss the specific details.

Lorenzana described the meeting as “meeting of minds to move forward, and this will be beneficial to both countries.” —Amita Legaspi/KBK, GMA News