Deliberate manoeuvre to ram boat: Navy
Published on: Sunday, June 16, 2019
MANILA: What made a Chinese vessel come into contact with a Filipino fishing boat and cause it to sink at midnight on Sunday in Recto Bank was no accident but a deliberate maneuver to ram the smaller craft, Philippine Navy chief Vice Admiral Robert Empedrad said.
“The Filipino vessel was anchored. So when based on the International Rules of the Road, it had the privilege because it could not evade… The ship was rammed. This is not a normal incident. The boat was anchored,” Empedrad said in an interview during a Naval symposium at the Manila Hotel.
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Empedrad issued the statement in response to Beijing’s claim that what happened to F/B Gemvir 1 was just an ordinary maritime accident.
Even some Philippine officials had maintained the sinking of the fishing boat in Philippine waters was not intentional, and may not have been necessarily caused by a Chinese vessel.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang on Thursday called the incident “an ordinary maritime traffic accident,” and said China was still investigating.
“If the relevant reports are true, regardless of the country from which the perpetrator came from, their behavior should be condemned,” the Chinese official said.
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Empedrad said crewmembers of oceangoing vessels as well as commanding officers of warships should be knowledgeable of the International Rules of the (maritime) Road. Based on international rules, stationary vessels should absolutely be avoided.
Gemvir 1 was stationary and anchored and had signal lightings when rammed by the bigger Chinese ship, the type and make of which remain unknown.
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The Navy chief also said Gemvir 1 crewmembers had made it clear it was a Chinese vessel that rammed their boat and not a Vietnamese vessel as some officials had insinuated.
It was the Chinese’s disregard for the safety and wellbeing of the 22 Filipino fishermen that made the incident doubly reprehensible, Empedrad said.
After their boat was hit, some of the crew said in a television interview they retrieved their small utility boats and paddled their way toward the Chinese vessel that briefly stopped after the incident.
“They came very close to the Chinese vessel to seek help but were ignored. Inilawan lang sila saka umalis yong erring ship (They shone a light on them and the erring ship left),” military sources said.
Fortunately for the fishermen, after floundering in the water for more than six hours, they were able to spot a Vietnamese fishing boat. From the Vietnamese boat, the fishermen radioed their sister ship, A/G Thanksgiving, to inform its crew about what happened and seek help.
Gemvir 1 skipper Junel Insigne told reporters they had thought the Chinese would pluck them out of the water after sinking their boat, but the Chinese left.
He said they were anchored and resting, as it was already midnight. He stressed their boat was well lighted.
“Umikot muna sila, binalikan kami, sinindi yung maraming ilaw, nung nakita kaming lubog na, pinatay yung ilaw ulit bago umatras, bago tumakbo palayo (They circled us, went back, switched on their lights. When they saw us sinking, they switched off their lights and hurriedly left),” he said, adding he could tell they were Chinese because of the type of ship lights.
“Kung wala dun yung Vietnam, baka mamatay na kaming lahat (If the Vietnamese weren’t there, we would have died),” Insigne said.
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