TAIWAN deployed fighter jets and a destroyer for military exercises to waters disputed with the Philippines, after rebuffing the Southeast Asian nation’s offer to apologize over the killing of a fisherman in the area.
The Philippines violated international law in the May 9 shooting by one of its patrol boats, Taiwan Premier Jiang Yi-huah said on Thursday in a television address. Jiang said Taiwan couldn’t accept that the killing was unintentional because the fishing vessel was riddled with bullet holes.
“The Philippines explanation has been inconsistent and lacking sincerity,” Jiang said. “Philippine officials killed one of our fisherman in our waters. This violates international law, maritime law and the laws of morality, and yet they are totally devoid of the will to resolve this.”
The dispute over the shooting stoked tensions in an area rich in natural resources that’s beset by competing territorial claims. Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou is battling a 14-percent approval rating, while Philippine President Aquino must weigh the potential losses if Filipino workers lose their jobs on the island because of the dispute.
Taiwan’s defense ministry deployed a Kidd-class destroyer and fighter jets as part of the military drill, Liu Hsun-cheng, a ministry spokesman, said by telephone on Thursday. The Coast Guard will send four ships to join the exercise in the Bashi Channel, Shih Yi-che, a spokesman, said by phone.
Earlier on Wednesday Ma recalled his representative from the Philippines and froze the hiring of workers from the nation because he believed Mr. Aquino’s response so far had been inadequate, his government said in a statement.
“This is an opportunity for him to shore up some confidence,” Alexander Huang, a professor at Tamkang University’s Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies in Taipei, said of Ma. “The general public here demands action—they want to see punishments.”
After Ma’s decision, Mr. Aquino Spokesman Edwin Lacierda announced that the Philippine leader had appointed an envoy to “convey his and the Filipino people’s deep regret and apology” to the fisherman’s family and Taiwan’s people “over the unfortunate and unintended loss of life.” The Philippines also planned to compensate the fisherman’s family.
“We certainly would hope that the authorities in Taiwan will see this as a sincere gesture,” Lacierda said. “We understand the grief and hurt of the family and of the people of Taiwan over this unfortunate loss and we empathize with them.”
The measures imposed also include a travel warning and a halt to airspace negotiations and economic exchanges, the Taiwan Cabinet said in a statement.
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