China gov’t has already apologized for Recto Bank incident — PHL envoy to Beijing

China has already sent its apology over the June 9 sinking of a Filipino fishing boat by a Chinese vessel near Recto Bank, Philippine Ambassador to Beijing Jose Santiago Sta. Romana said Thursday.

“Actually the Chinese government through the Foreign Ministry has expressed they’re very sorry about the incident through diplomatic channels already,” Sta. Romana told reporters in Beijing ahead of President Rodrigo Duterte’s bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping set for Thursday night.

Sta. Romana was asked whether there was a need for the Chinese government to issue a separate apology after the owner of the Chinese trawler said sorry for the incident, which he described as an "accidental collision."

The ambassador said the apology from the owner was a result of “intense diplomatic efforts from both sides.”

He added that whether Beijing will impose sanctions on the Chinese crew members is subject for further discussion.

“I think the fact that the Foreign Ministry was deeply involved in these discussions with us, the moral responsibility I think they share. But the specific responsibility is that of the fishing boat. In other words, they actually facilitated the investigation and exchange of results,” Sta. Romana said.

“We thought it was necessary for the Chinese boat owner to explain it himself not to me, not through DFA [Department of Foreign Affairs], not through the media, but directly to the public and that’s why there was this letter,” he added.

Compensation

On the issue of giving compensation to the Filipino fishermen, Sta. Romana said it “will have to be studied because they are procedural.”

“But we will probably proceed and try to help out the fishermen and [the] owner in the Philippines. And the question is how to quantify all this. So you obviously need expert advice,” he said.

“And so this is something the other department agencies concerned will have to deal with and help the fishermen. BFAR [Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources] will also play a role and possibly DOJ [Department of Justice].”

The Guangdong Fishery Mutual Insurance Association, which counts the owner of the Chinese trawler as member, has already requested the Filipino fishermen to seek compensation based on the actual loss.

Sta. Romana said it was established during the exchanges with the Chinese officials that the boat from China’s Guangdong province was not part of the Chinese maritime militia and that what happened on June 9 was not a ramming incident but an accident.

The owner of the Chinese vessel conveyed his apology through a letter signed by Chen Shiqin, president of the Guangdong Fishery Mutual Insurance Association.

It was given to the fisheries bureau of China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the agency designated by Beijing to handle the Recto Bank incident, according to Sta. Romana.

The embassy then translated key portions of the letter which was contained in the August 28 memorandum it sent to Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. who said he merely noted it. Malacañang, on the other hand, accepted the apology.

'They did not rescue our fishermen'

The 22 Filipino crew members were left in the sea for hours as their fishing boat sank. They were later rescued by a Vietnamese vessel.

“There are additional details like they knew they heard the shouts for help but they couldn’t understand the language and they were overcome by fear. And then that they reported instead to the fishing authorities of China what happened as they were leaving,” Sta. Romana said.

“It does not excuse them for their responsibility. Their responsibility includes that by the way, the fact that they did not rescue our fishermen.”

Sta. Romana said the Chinese fishermen should have reported the incident to Philippine fishing authorities or to a body that will notify the countries concerned.

“I think if they knew they were Filipinos maybe it would have been a different story,” he said.

He added there was a request from the Chinese side to send a delegation to visit the fishermen “but at that point the atmosphere was just not too favorable.”

“If they were to go now, we could consider it,” he said.

The letter of apology was made public by the DFA hours before Duterte flew to China on Wednesday for a four-day official visit where he said he would raise the boat sinking incident, among others, in his meeting with Xi on Thursday.

“I guess to a certain extent the visit provided an impetus because we were telling them that unless this is cleared, then it will come up in the discussion,” Sta. Romana said.

“I mean it could still come up but at least now on a positive note it’s really how to avoid for the future.” — BM, GMA News