Owner of Chinese ship that rammed Filipino boat apologizes

August 28, 2019

The owner of the Chinese ship that rammed and sunk a Filipino fishing vessel in Recto Bank on June 9 has apologized for the incident.

The Philippine Embassy in China on Wednesday said a August 28, 2019 memorandum for Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. has the translation of a key portion of the letter of apology by the Chinese ship's owner.

"The shipowner of the Chinese fishing boat involved, through our association, would like to express his sincere apology to the Filipino fishermen," read an except of the English translation.

"We believe that, although this accident was an unintentional mistake of the Chinese fishermen, the Chinese fishing boat should however take the major responsibility in the accident,” it said.

The letter also requested the Philippine side “to file a specific appeal for civil compensation based on the actual loss."

In the June 9 incident, the Chinese vessel left and the 22 crew members of the FB Gem-Vir 1 were stranded for four hours until a Vietnamese vessel rescued them.

President Rodrigo Duterte is set to visit China where he said he will raise the June 9 incident in his meeting with President Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders. DMS