Boat collision off Occidental Mindoro to be resolved under Philippine laws, says Palace

June 29, 2020

A collision involving Philippine fishing vessel and Hong Kong-resitered cargo ship off Occidental Mindoro would be resolved under Philippine laws, Malacañang said on Monday.

In a virtual press briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the Palace does not see any implication of the incident on the relations between the Philippines and China. Hong Kong is an administrative region of China.

"This is an issue of Philippine Admiralty Law because the collision occurred in Philippine territorial waters. There is no international law application here other than foreign flagships can sail through under the concept of innocent passage," he said.

"But as far as the accountability is concerned, the Philippines will decide on that because the collision happened in our sea," Roque explained.

He likened the incident to a normal accident on a road.

"So, there's no big implication on that. It's just a collision," Roque added.

The Philippine Coast Guard reported that the 14 Filipinos on board fishing vessel Liberty 5 were missing after the crash with Hong Kong-registered MV Vienna Wood off Tayamaan, Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro around 1am Monday. Celerina Monte/DMS