Duterte to Recto Bank fishers: Sorry but it is a maritime incident

President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday apologized to the 22 Filipino fishermen whose boat was rammed by a Chinese vessel in the Recto Bank recently but maintained his view it was nothing but a “maritime incident.”

Duterte made the statement as the Filipino fishermen expressed disappointment over his comments on the ramming of their boat by the bigger Chinese vessel.

“Well I’m sorry but that’s how it is. It is a maritime incident. Little in the sense that there was no confrontation, there was no bloody violence,” Duterte said in Mandaluyong City.

“Kung gusto mo gumanti that is not a reason to go to any military exercise there. Pag ginawa mo yan giyera yan.”

Duterte said the Recto Bank, a feature within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea, was also being claimed by China.

“I’m sorry kung yun ang feeling nila at alam naman nila na that area is claimed by both. Para sa China it happened within their jurisdiction,” Duterte said.

Duterte said while he did not “belittle” the ordeal of the fishermen, the President pointed out that “luckily nobody died.”

The Chinese vessel left the area after the  June 9 incident, and the crew of the floundering FB Gem-Vir 1 were left stranded for four hours until a passing Vietnamese vessel rescued them.

China, which proposed a joint investigation on the ramming, said the Chinese vessel had not intended to leave the Filipinos, but was forced to sail away for fear of being besieged by several other Filipino boats near the area – a claim belied by the fishermen.

Duterte said he had already received the preliminary investigation report by the Philippine Navy and Philippine Coast Guard regarding the ramming. He did not disclose the results.

Duterte’s spokesperson Salvador Panelo said on Saturday said that the administration would wait for China to "clarify the dynamics" of the joint investigation which the President agreed to, but the Philippines and China will probably conduct their investigation separately, and share the respective findings with each other afterwards.

Panelo said there was no need for a neutral party to investigate the incident if the Philippines and China "agree" on the results.

Asked about the possibility of tapping a neutral party, the President said, “Whatever satisfies the requirement of fair play and due process. Everybody should be heard.”

“If they want another investigation, payag man ako or they can always investigate on their own and we can confront each other with our evidence. Kung ayaw nila OK lang,” Duterte said.

Duterte on Sunday told a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Thailand over his concern and disappointment over the delay in the negotiations for a Code of Conduct (COC) on the South China Sea.

He had explained during the retreat of ASEAN leaders that the longer the delay in the conclusion of a COC, the higher the probability a maritime incident would occur, and there was thus a greater chance for miscalculations that could spiral out of control.

The Philippines is currently the dialogue coordinator between China and ASEAN on negotiations for the Code of Conduct, which aims to prevent conflicting territorial claims from erupting into violent confrontations or worse, an economically-devastating major conflict. —NB, GMA News