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China Makes Representations to the Philippines on Killing of Fisherman
The Chinese Foreign Ministry will make further representations to the Philippines on compensation for the incident in which a Chinese fishing boat was attacked and one fisherman was shot dead by Philippine maritime police in the South China Sea, according to ministry sources Friday.
On May 26, the Qionghai No. 01068 fishing boat of South China's Hainan Province, which was fishing in the South China Sea, drifted into the waters off the Philippines' island of Palawan after experiencing engine problems. The Philippine maritime police pursued and the boat and shot at it. In the incident, Fu Gongwu, the boat's captain, was shot to death and seven other Chinese fishermen were detained.
After learning of this event, the Chinese ambassador to the Philippines promptly made solemn representations to the Philippine secretary of foreign affairs, deputy secretary of foreign affairs, and deputy secretary of transportation and communications, expressing China's grave shock and strong dissatisfaction over the incident.
The ambassador demanded that the Philippine side release both the boat and the fishermen at an early date, preserve the remains of the slain captain, make compensations according to international conventions, and adopt effective measures to prevent such incidents from happening again.
On May 28, the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines dispatched two envoys to visit the detained fishermen, conveying to them the sincere solicitude of the Chinese government and their families. Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry made a statement on the incident.
The Philippine government, paying great attention to China's representations, said it regards the incident as unfortunate, and admitted that it is necessary for the Philippine coast guards to review its orders so as to avoid the recurrence of such incidents. It also promised to handle the matter in the most proper way as soon as possible.
The seven Chinese fishermen have now returned home aboard Qionghai No. 01068. Upon the demand of his relatives, the captain' s remains were also carried back to China aboard the boat.
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