Taiwan’s top fishery official said Monday that the recent fishing pact signed between Taiwan and Japan is an example of how Taiwan and the Philippines could resolve their long-running dispute over fishing rights in their overlapping exclusive economic zones.
The Taiwan-Japan fishing agreement designates an area in overlapping waters in which fishermen from both sides can operate freely, Fisheries Agency Director-General James Sha noted.
This could serve as a model for addressing a similar dispute with Manila, which has flared up since the shooting death of a Taiwanese fisherman at the hands of patrol personnel aboard a Philippine government vessel on May 9, he said.
Sha made the remarks during an interview with the Philippine television network GMA and the Taiwanese media, in which he discussed issues related to the incident.
A joint patrol of the Philippine Coast Guard and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources strafed the Taiwanese fishing boat, the Kuang Ta Hsing No. 28, while it was operating in the overlapping exclusive economic zones of the two countries. A 65-year-old fisherman Hung Shih-cheng was killed in the incident.
Sha said the records from the fishing boat’s voyage data recorder (VDR) showed that it was not trespassing in the Philippines’ territorial waters when the attack occurred.
The incident took place within the Republic of China (Taiwan)’s exclusive economic zone, not in Philippines territorial waters, he said, denying reports in the Philippine media that the boat had been poaching in Philippines territory.
The Philippine marine patrol personnel opened fire on the fishing boat and did not board the vessel to see if there were any casualties after the shooting, Sha said.
More than 50 bullet holes were found in the boat after it was towed back to Taiwan, he said.
In response to questions from the GMA, Sha displayed a photo of the fishing boat’s log, which he said proved that the vessel had not entered the Philippines’ territorial waters since its departure from its home harbor in Pingtung County, southern Taiwan, on May 4.
Asked about the precision of the recording equipment, Sha said the VDR has a 90 percent accuracy to within seven meters.
One of the purposes of installing VDRs on Taiwanese fishing boats is to pinpoint their location in the event of fishing disputes with neighboring countries, Sha said.
This would be important evidence for us to determine the location, he added.
The VDRs are usually sealed once they are installed, and are constantly checked by officials from the Fisheries Agency , Sha said.
If it is found that a VDR has been tampered with, the boat owner will be punished, he added.
Investigators from Taiwan and the Philippines are visiting each other’s country to probe the shooting incident.
The Central News Agency