Taiwan commends PH decision to charge coastguard personnel

Taiwanese investigators rides a rubber boat as they inspect a ship involved in the shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman while they continue their probe in Manila on Tuesday, May 28, 2013. AP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Taiwan, officially the People’s Republic of China (ROC), commended the decision of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to charge eight officers and personnel of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) with homicide for the May 2013 fatal shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman in the Balintang Channel, an incident that strained ties between Manila and Taipei.

“The ROC commends the special panel’s resolution, announced March 18, as a victory for justice,” the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said in a statement.

The statement added that MOFA applauds the Philippine judiciary for its fair ruling, as well as its determination to punish the perpetrators according to the facts and evidence of the crime.

After the May 9, 2013 incident that killed a 65-year-old Taiwanese fisherman, the ROC made four demands to the Philippine government, calling for a formal apology, compensation, an expeditious investigation followed by prosecution of the perpetrators, and the speedy arrangement of negotiations on fishery matters.

MOFA said it would continue to monitor the judicial proceedings in the case.

The decision of the DOJ is in line with the report released August 2013 by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) finding the attack on the Taiwanese fishing boat which resulted in the death of fisherman Hung Shih-Cheng was not carried out in self-defense.

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