Duterte wants discussion on Recto Bank incident in next meetings with China

(Philstar.com) - July 3, 2019 - 11:14am

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte told his Cabinet

members that he wants to bring up the collision of a Filipino fishing boat
and a Chinese trawler in the West Philippine Sea in bilateral meetings with
Beijing.

Last month, a Chinese vessel rammed into a Filipino fishing boat near
Recto Bank, causing the latter to sink and leaving 22 local fishermen "to
the mercy of the elements."

"The president wanted China's assurance that the rights and safety of our
fisherfolks are guaranteed," presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo
said in a statement Tuesday.

The crewmen of the Filipino watercraft said the Chinese ship immediately
left the scene after the collision.

The captain of the Chinese ship, meanwhile, claimed that they tried to help
the Filipino fishermen but were besieged by other Filipino boats.

China rejected the proposal for a third party investigatot into the incident,
which President Rodrigo Duterte called a "little maritime accident."
"Well, I'm sorry, but that's how it is. It is a maritime incident, little in a sense
that there was no confrontation, there was no bloody violence," Duterte
earlier said.

According to Panelo, Chinese authorities told Philippine Ambassador to

Beijing Chito Sto. Romana that there was no need for a third party as the
two countries can settle the issue. — Patricia Lourdes Viray

Read more at https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/07/03/1931366/duterte-

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