Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. (File photo by BEN STANSALL / AFP)
MANILA, Philippines — Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said he did not accept the apology of the owner of a Chinese vessel that sank a Filipino fishing boat last June, saying that he “merely noted” it.
“Hey morons! I merely NOTED the Chinese apology. I did not accept it. I am not a fisherman,” the country’s top diplomat said over Twitter late Wednesday.
Hey morons! I merely NOTED the Chinese apology. I did not accept it. I am not a fisherman. Panelo merely expressed satisfaction with the Chinese apology for the incident and the offer of compensation and nothing more.
— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) August 28, 2019
A memorandum addressed to Locsin containing a portion of a letter, sent by a Chinese association, expressed the shipowner’s “sincere apology.”
READ: Two months later, Chinese shipowner apologizes for ‘accident’ with PH boat
Chen Shiqin, president of the Guangdong Fishery Mutual Insurance Association, admitted that the Chinese fishing boat should “take major responsibility for the “accident.”
The association also requested the Philippine side to “file a specific appeal for civil compensation based on the actual loss.”
Malacañang has accepted the Chinese shipowner’s apology.
READ: Palace accepts apology of Chinese shipowner in Recto Bank incident
“Panelo merely expressed satisfaction with the Chinese apology for the incident and the offer of compensation and nothing more,” Locsin’s tweet further read, referring to Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo.
The June 9 incident left 22 Filipino fishermen abandoned at sea after the Chinese vessel hit their boat at Recto (Reed) Bank in the West Philippine Sea.
The letter, however, recalled the incident and said that it happened “in the waters of Reed Bank, Nansha Island Group.”
But Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio corrected the same letter, saying that Reed Bank, is not a part of Nansha Island Group—more commonly known as Spratly Islands.
READ: Carpio corrects Chinese shipowner: ‘Reed Bank not part of Spratly Islands’
The Chinese Embassy in Manila had earlier claimed that the Chinese trawler fled the scene after it was “besieged” by several Philippine fishing boats.
The embassy said then that the crew of the Chinese vessel accidentally “bumped” into the Gem-Vir 1 as it tried to maneuver and then left the scene due to safety fears./ac