Coast Guard: Taiwanese vessel intercepted off Batanes

Nearly four months after a deadly encounter between a Taiwanese vessel and a Philippine patrol craft in Extreme Northern Luzon last May, a Taiwanese fishing vessel was intercepted off Batanes province, the Philippine Coast Guard said Thursday.

The Philippine Coast Guard on Thursday cited initial reports indicating the Taiwanese vessel's lone operator was taken into custody in Batanes, radio dzBB's Carlo Mateo reported.

Coast Guard spokesman Cmdr. Armand Balilo said the Batanes provincial police and Bantay Dagat intercepted the Taiwanese vessel with registry number 3512 off Itbayat in Batanes.

Balilo described the vessel's operator as 54 years old, adding the lone seafarer is now detained at the Batanes provincial police office, and the vessel was brought to Basco in Batanes.

Nearly four months ago, a Philippine vessel with personnel from the Coast Guard and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources encountered a Taiwanese fishing vessel Philippine waters.

A Taiwanese fisherman was shot dead in the encounter on May 9. The incident had strained ties between the Philippines and Taiwan, which imposed several sanctions on Manila.

Relations between the Philippines and Taiwan began to normalize only after the National Bureau of Investigation recommended homicide charges against eight Coast Guard personnel for the fatal shooting of the fishermen, and added charges against four more for altering the evidence.

The NBI’s recommendations and an apology relayed by Manila Economic and Cultural Office head Amadeo Perez Jr. to the slain fisherman’s family eventually led Taiwan to lift its sanctions on the Philippines.

The sanctions imposed by Taipei on Manila included a freeze on the hiring of Filipino workers and a travel alert on the Philippines. — LBG, GMA News