Taiwan and the Philippines are expected to soon sign an agreement on maritime law enforcement cooperation aimed at addressing fishing disputes in the two countries’ overlapping waters, officials said Thursday.
Both sides are working to sign the agreement before the fishing season begins in April, Foreign Minister David Lin said during a press briefing.
The agreement is part of efforts to ensure the safety of fishermen operating in waters where the two countries’ exclusive economic zones overlap, following the fatal shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman by Philippine Coast Guard personnel last year.
After the May 9 incident, the two sides have held two fishery meetings and a consultation meeting, and have reached consensus on several issues regarding maritime law enforcement cooperation, Lin said.
These include no use of force or violence when patrolling fishing grounds, the establishment of a mechanism to inform each other in the event of fishery incidents and the release of detained fishermen and boats as soon as possible, he said.
“The agreement will include the consensus,” he said. “We hope to hold bilateral fishery talks to sign the agreement as soon as possible.”
The text of the agreement has nearly been finalized, with both sides still dealing with some of the pact’s wording, said Benjamin Ho, director-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, who also attended the briefing.
The next round of fishery talks is very likely to take place in Taipei, based on a rotational principle, Ho told reporters.
In addition to strengthening bilateral cooperation on maritime law enforcement, Taiwan will seek to advance cooperation with the Philippines in fishery resource management and designate an area in overlapping waters in which fishermen from both countries can operate freely, Ho added.
On May 9, Philippine Coast Guard officers sprayed bullets at Taiwanese fishing boat the Kuang Ta Hsing No. 28 when the boat was operating in waters where the two countries’ exclusive economic zones overlap, killing Taiwanese fisherman Hung Shih-cheng, who was aboard the fishing boat.
Following the incident, Taiwan insisted that Manila formally apologize for the shooting, punish those responsible, compensate the victim’s family and hold bilateral fishery talks to prevent the occurrence of similar incidents in the future.
The Philippine Department of Justice announced earlier this week that it will file homicide charges against the eight coast guard officers.
Lin said the filing of the homicide charges means that the Philippine government has met the four demands set by Taiwan.
Last August, Amadeo Perez Jr., chairman of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO), visited Hung’s family in Pingtung County to deliver a letter of apology on behalf of Philippine President Benigno Aquino III.
The Philippine government also reached an agreement with the family on a compensation package.
MECO is the Philippine institution responsible for handling relations with Taiwan in the absence of diplomatic ties.
The Central News Agency