MANILA, Philippines — The ship captain of the Chinese vessel that rammed and sank the Filipino fishing boat near Recto Bank (Reed Bank) in the West Philippine Sea should apologize and pay compensation to the distressed fishermen, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Wednesday.
“I think it would be appropriate to demand the ship captain to apologize and make restitution for the damage,” he told reporters in a press briefing.
Twenty-two Filipino fishermen were abandoned on the high seas after their boat was hit and sunk by a Chinese vessel on the midnight of June 9 in the West Philippine Sea.
Lorenzana publicized the incident last week and condemned the ship captain for his actions and called for a diplomatic action.
President Rodrigo Duterte dismissed the incident as a “little maritime accident.”
While his condemnation of the incident remains, Lorenzana also believed that what happened was an accident.
“I think it’s just an accident. Based on some of the information that we got from some of the crew, this is just an accident. Siguro hindi rin sinasadya ng kabila na masagi nila,” he said. (Editor: Julie Espinosa)