PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte accepted the offer of the Chinese government to conduct a joint investigation on the sinking of a Filipino fishing boat after being rammed by a Chinese trawler in the Recto (Reed) Bank, Malacañang said on Saturday, June 22.
Duterte made the decision, after China proposed a joint investigation with the Philippines with regard to the recent Recto Bank incident involving Filipino and Chinese fishermen to achieve a “mutually-recognized results.”
In a statement, Presidnetial Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the President sought the creation of three-man joint investigating panel composed of one representative each from the Philippines, China and a “neutral” country.
Panelo said the committee members must be “highly qualified and competent.”
“With this in mind, the Palace wishes to inform our people that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte welcomes and accepts the offer of the Chinese Government to conduct a joint investigation to determine what really transpired in Recto Bank and find a satisfactory closure to this episode,” he said.
“To this end, the President wants the creation of a joint investigating committee that shall be composed of three groups of highly qualified and competent individuals, with Philippines and China having one representative each, and a third member coming from a neutral country,” the Palace official added.
The announcement came just a day after the President said that the abandonment and sinking of a Filipino boat by the Chinese vessel was “not an attack” on the Philippines’ sovereignty.
Panelo added that having separate investigations by the Philippines and China may only “raise speculation and accusation of bias.”
“Such circumstance will put any finding by any side open to question and place the entire issue in a confused state,” he said.
On June 9, Chinese trawler Yuemaobinyu 42212 hit, sank, and abandoned the anchored Filipino fishing vessel F/B Gem--Ver1 near Recto Bank.
The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines, however, earlier claimed that the Chinese boat attempted to rescue the crew of the sinking Filipino vessel, but it was “besieged” by seven or eight Filipino trawlers.
Panelo clarified that the proposed joint investigation was approved by the President to get justice for the 22 distressed Filipino fishermen.
“To be clear, we are by no means relinquishing any inch of our sovereign rights, nor compromising the rights of our 22 fishermen. We are demanding justice for our countrymen, and we are using all legal means toward that end,” he said.
“A joint and impartial investigation will not only promote the expedient resolution of the issue, it will also be in accordance with international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which places paramount emphasis on the use of peaceful means to resolve international disputes,” he added. (SunStar Philippines)