On the doorstep of the Philippines, the maritime dispute between China and the Philippines has once again attracted attention. According to the Philippine Coast Guard, a Chinese-flagged vessel crashed into a Filipino fishing boat near the Philippines, causing five Filipino fishermen to fall overboard. Immediately after the accident, the Philippine Coast Guard took action and released the wreckage of the fishing boat**.
The accidental collision occurred at 4:05 p.m. this Tuesday 25 nautical miles near Paluan, Mindoro. According to the Philippine Coast Guard, a Chinese cargo ship crashed into a Filipino fishing boat in the area. The accident caused serious damage to the Philippine fishing boat and five fishermen fell overboard. According to the statement of the captain of the Philippine fishing boat, they were resting at the time to prepare for a fishing operation, docking the boat to a fishing gathering device. However, they never expected this tragedy to happen. The fishermen urgently put down a small boat and fled, but due to the impact of the impact, they eventually fell overboard. Fishermen from other fishing boats arrived in time and rescued five Filipino fishermen ashore.
(a).
Filipino fishermen are shocked and outraged by the incident, and they are actively seeking help and hoping to obtain sufficient evidence to defend their rights and interests. The wrecked fishing boat is a tool for them to survive, and its destruction means the loss of livelihood. The Philippine Coast Guard said the rescued fishermen were in good health and had returned them to their immediate families. The Philippine side proposed that the captain and owner of the fishing vessel raise the issue with the Chinese side, and promised to report the incident to the relevant Chinese authorities and contact them to restore the truth of the accident.
(b).
The collision was questioned by referring to the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea requiring vessels witnessing incidents at sea to provide assistance to the ship. This has aroused the concern and discussion of some Filipino people. Although there has been no response from the Chinese side so far, the Philippine Coast Guard has remained cautious in handling the matter and has not drawn conclusions lightly. After all, collisions in international waters are not an occasional occurrence and require accurate investigation and determination of responsibility.
(c).
However, regardless of the facts, this accidental collision may have a certain impact on China-Philippines relations. In particular, Marcos Marcos in the Philippines tends to stir up nationalist sentiment as a way to foment the South China Sea dispute, an incident that could be exploited by some for their political purposes. The instability of the situation has been further exacerbated by the emergence of questioning voices and references to international law in the Philippines amid the emotions of Filipino fishermen.
According to information released by the Philippine Coast Guard, a Chinese vessel collided with a Filipino fishing boat in Philippine waters, causing five Filipino fishermen to fall overboard. The collision with the Chinese vessel could further destabilize relations with the Philippines as a result of the damage to the Philippine fishing boat. The Philippine side strongly condemned the Chinese vessel and reminded the captain and owner of the ship to raise **. However, we still need to wait for China's response and more evidence and investigation results in order to accurately understand the truth of the incident and the definition of responsibility. The incident exposed the use of Philippine fishing boats as a political tool, which could have a negative impact on friendly relations between the Chinese and Philippines people-to-people groups.