PHNO-HL: ACCIDENTAL? ONE DEAD AS CHINESE SHIP SINKS RP BOAT NEAR SHOAL

ACCIDENTAL? ONE DEAD AS CHINESE SHIP SINKS RP BOAT NEAR
SHOAL
MANILA, JUNE 26, 2012
(TRIBUNE) Written by Mario J. Mallari - FISHING CRAFT'S CAPTAIN
SAYS ATTACK INTENTIONAL.
The first physical encounter between Chinese and Philippine vessels amid a
tense naval standoff over conflicting territorial claims of both countries
happened last June 18, or a day after President Aquino ordered the pullout of
Philippine ships from the disputed Scarborough Shoal, in an incident where a
Chinese vessel rammed a local fishing boat near the shoal, killing one and
leaving four others missing.
Office of Civil Defense chief Benito Ramos described the ramming as
accidental but Posio Balmores, captain of the motorized fishing boat AXL John,
said their seacraft was intentionally bumped.
Ramos, nevertheless, admitted that the suspected Chinese vessel did not stop
to help the Filipino fishermen as seafaring protocol calls, raising suspicion
that the incident was not accidental.

"It (foreign vessel) did not (stop)
that's why we are doubtful if it was accidental then they should have helped
them (Filipino fishermen). They were recovered two days after by fellow Filipino
fishermen," Ramos said.

The fishing boat set out from Bolinao, Pangasinan
last Monday and was reported to have sunk two days later, Office of Civil
Defence chief Benito Ramos told AFP.

Last June 17, citing the weather
condition as a result of typhoon Butchoy, Aquino recalled Coast Guard ships and
other government vessels engaged in a standoff with Chinese ships on Scraborough
Shoal.

"Of the eight fishermen aboard, four were plucked out of sea only
yesterday, but one of them died in a hospital," Ramos said. "Four more are still
missing."

The rescued fishermen told authorities they believed the vessel
which collided with their boat was Chinese, Ramos said, though this could not be
independently verified. Chinese embassy officials were not available for comment
yesterday.
Ramos said the incident occurred north of Scarborough Shoal where
the Philippines and China have been engaged in a tense stand off since
April.

"It's north of the Scarborough, though we could not determine how
far in terms of distance or nautical miles," he said.
President Aquino last
June 17 ordered two Philippine ships to pull out from the shoal during bad
weather, a move that the Chinese said calmed tensions in the area.

While
China said it would also ask its fishermen to leave the area, it stressed it had
no intention of pulling out its bigger ships from there.

As of last week,
there were still seven Chinese ships at the shoal, according to Department of
Foreign Affairs (DFA).
The dispute began in April after Chinese government
vessels blocked Philippine ships from arresting Chinese fishermen near the
shoal.

Since then, both countries have maintained ships there to press
their respective claims to the area.

China has claimed nearly all of the
South China Sea, even waters close to the coasts of neighbouring countries. The
Philippines has maintained that the shoal is well within its 200-nautical-mile
exclusive economic zone.

The shoal sits about 230 kilometers (140 miles)
from the Philippines' main island of Luzon. The nearest major Chinese landmass
is 1,200 km northwest of the shoal, according to Philippine navy
maps.

Ramos said AXL John was anchored with payaw or fishing nets
deployed in Bolinao town last June 18 when a Chinese fishing vessel rammed them,
causing their boat to sink.

The lone fatality was identified as
Christopher Balmores, who died while undergoing treatment at a local hospital in
Ilocos Sur, where they were recovered two days after the
incident.

Rescued were Posio Balmores, Lino Damian and Boy Balmores. They
are now recuperating at the Gabriela Silang General Hospital in Ilocos Sur. The
four were recovered in Magsingan in that province.

Still missing are Fred
Celino, Arnold Garcia, Domy delos Santos and Amante Resonable.

Ramos said
the fishing boat AXL John, owned by Jonalyn Hondrada Camacho, subsequently
sank.

The NDRRMC executive director said authorities had yet to determine
the origin of the Chinese fishing vessel, whether Taiwan or China.

"It is
still not known whether (the foreign fishing vessel) was from Taiwan or China,"
Ramos said.

He said the owner of the fishing boat had yet to cooperate
with authorities investigating the incident.

The place of the incident,
Ramos said, was approximately 160 to 180 nautical miles off the disputed Panatag
(Scarborough) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea.

[PHOTO- BIG WAVES IN
CHINA SEA]
According to Ramos, there were huge waves due to a storm surge prevailing in
the area where the Filipino fishing boat sank.

Ramos said that search and
rescue operations were ongoing for the four fishermen who remained missing,
particularly in Ilocos Sur province.

Despite a warning by the Philippine
Coast Guard and the police, all eight fishermen insisted on leaving Bolinao at
1:00 a.m. of June 18 on a fishing expedition in the West Philippine Sea and have
since not returned home.

It was learned that the fishermen ignored all
warnings for them not to sail to the West Philippine Sea as storm Butchoy was
still raging in the eastern seaboard of Luzon at that time.

The crewmen
of the ill-fated fishing boat were reportedly from Barangays Concordia and
Arnedo in Bolinao.

Balmores told Honrado by phone that in order to
protect themselves from being blown away by the storm, they anchored off and
tied their boat to a payaw they found in mid-sea.

They were safe for a
while but then an unnamed vessel arrived and obviously intentionally bumped
their motorized fishing boat, causing it to sink.

Only four men, one of
whom was Posio Balmores, managed to save themselves by clinging to the floating
remnants of their fishing boat while their four companions could not be
found.
FROM NEWS ASIA
Chinese ship 'accidentally rams' Philippines boat
Published: 24/06/2012 at 03:48 PM Online news: Asia 6 Share
The Philippines alleged on Sunday that a Chinese vessel accidentally rammed a
local fishing boat north of a disputed South China Sea shoal, killing one and
leaving four others missing.
Photo illustration shows a Filipino-owned fishing boat sailing off
from Masinloc town, north of Manila, for a fishing expedition near the
Scarborough Shoal in May. The Philippines alleged on Sunday that a Chinese
vessel accidentally rammed a local fishing boat north of a disputed South China
Sea shoal, killing one and leaving four others missing. The fishing boat set out
from the northern coastal town of Bolinao, in Pangasinan province, last Monday
and was reported to have sunk two days later, Office of Civil Defence chief
Benito Ramos told AFP.
"Of the eight fishermen aboard, four were plucked out of sea only yesterday,
but one of them died in a hospital," Ramos said. "Four more are still missing."

The rescued fishermen told authorities they believed the vessel which
collided with their boat was Chinese, Ramos said, though this could not be
independently verified.
Chinese embassy officials were not available for comment on Sunday.
Ramos said the incident occurred north of Scarborough Shoal where the
Philippines and China have been engaged in a tense stand off since April.
"It's north of the Scarborough, though we could not determine how far in
terms of distance or nautical miles," he said.
President Benigno Aquino earlier this month ordered two Philippine ships to
pull out from the shoal during bad weather, a move that the Chinese said calmed
tensions in the area.
While China said it would also ask its fishermen to leave the area, it
stressed it had no intention of pulling out its bigger ships from there.
As of last week, there were still seven Chinese ships at the shoal, according
to the Philippines foreign ministry.
The dispute began in April after Chinese government vessels blocked
Philippine ships from arresting Chinese fishermen near the shoal.
Since then, both countries have maintained ships there to press their
respective claims to the area.
China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, even waters close to the
coasts of neighbouring countries. The Philippines says the shoal is well within
its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.
The shoal sits about 230 kilometres (140 miles) from the Philippines' main
island of Luzon. The nearest major Chinese landmass is 1,200 kilometres
northwest of the shoal, according to Philippine navy maps.


Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All
rights reserved




PHILIPPINE
HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE


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