Taiwanese investigators watched on Tuesday morning almost two hours of video taken by the Philippine Coast Guard and which captured the May 9 incident in the Balintang Channel, during which a Taiwanese fisherman was killed.
The investigators were accompanied by representatives of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office - the country’s de facto embassy to Taiwan - and Teco, its Taiwanese counterpart.
They declined to discuss what they saw.
Relatedly, the Taiwanese investigators also inspected the vessel of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources involved in the Balintang Channel incident.
The inspection conducted on MCS 3001, a 35-meter vessel made of fiberglass, lasted for almost one-and-a-half hours. It is docked at Pier 13 in Manila.
Commodore Eduardo Gongona, fleet commander of the Philippine Coast Guard, assisted the Taiwanese investigators. He said the foreign investigators inspected the inside area of the vessel and, with the use of a rubber boat, encircled the entire vessel.
They also took pictures of the proceedings.
He said the foreigners also inspected the damaged side of the vessel which could have been a result of the collision with the fishing boat of Taiwan.
Using a ruler, the Taiwanese investigators measured the armory of the BFAR vessel to determine whether the firearms used during the incident can be contained therein.
Even the siren used for warning an intruding boat was also utilized.
The Taiwanese investigators were accompanied by officials of the National Bureau of Investigation. After the inspection, the team went to the NBI headquarters on Taft Avenue, Manila.
Serious rift between neighbors
The death of the fisherman, whom the Coast Guard said was shot when his fishing boat allegedly tried to ram the BFAR vessel, has caused a serious rift between the Philippines and Taiwan.
On Monday the Taiwanese investigators conducted ballistics tests on the 17 firearms surrendered by the Coast Guard personnel in the incident.
Taiwanese investigators performing ballistics tests on the firearms surrendered by Coast Guard personnel involved in the Balintang Channel incident. (video by Marlene Alcaide, News5)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.