Philippines agrees to joint investigation with China into fishing boat’s sinking

Manila has accused a Chinese trawler of abandoning the fishing vessel’s 22 Filipino crew members, who were later rescued by Vietnamese fishermen

China states the trawler merely ‘bumped’ the vessel, and tried to rescue the fishermen but was ‘afraid of being besieged by other Filipino fishing boats’

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A handout photo showing shows the damaged Philippine fishing vessel after the collision. Photo: EPA

Published: 6:09pm, 22 Jun 2019Updated: 3:28pm, 13 Dec 2019

China and the Philippines agreed to conduct a joint inquiry into the sinking of a Filipino fishing boat by a Chinese vessel in disputed waters, President Rodrigo Duterte’s spokesman said on Saturday.

The incident on June 9, when the two boats collided in the South China Sea, has sparked public outrage.

On June 21, protesters held a rally in Manila over the incident. Photo: AP

Manila has accused the Chinese trawler of abandoning the vessel’s 22 Filipino crew members – later rescued by Vietnamese fishermen – but Beijing has rejected this.

China states the trawler merely “bumped” the vessel, and tried to rescue the fishermen – but was “afraid of being besieged by other Filipino fishing boats”.

Duterte accepted the Chinese government’s offer to conduct a joint investigation into the incident, presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said in a statement, “to determine what really transpired”.

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