BANGKOK – The Philippines has agreed to conduct a joint and impartial investigation with China to determine the truth and accountability on the Recto Bank incident.
President Duterte has welcomed China’s proposed joint inquiry and suggested the creation of a committee to probe the incident early this month in which 22 fishermen were abandoned at sea after their vessel were hit by a Chinese vessel in Recto Bank to reach a “satisfactory closure,” according to presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo.
Panelo made the announcement a few hours after Duterte arrived in Thailand to attend the 34th Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit. Duterte is on his third visit to Thailand since he assumed office in 2016.
“The Palace wishes to inform our people that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte welcomes and accepts the offer of the Chinese government to conduct a joint investigation to determine what really transpired in Recto Bank and find a satisfactory closure to this episode,” Panelo said.
“To this end, the President wants the creation of a joint investigating committee that shall be composed of three groups of highly qualified and competent individuals, with Philippines and China having one representative each, and a third member coming from a neutral country,” he said.
He recognized that the duty of seafarers to rescue those at peril in the sea was “a well entrenched principle of international law, maritime law, and humanitarian law.”
“The basic dictates of justice demand a full account of the events that ultimately led to the abandonment of our 22 distressed fishermen in the middle of the sea and accountability of those at fault,” he said.
Panelo notes that a joint investigation was prudent compared to separate inquiries conducted by the Philippines and China to prevent allegations of bias.
“Having separate investigations by the two countries may raise speculation and accusation of bias. Such circumstance will put any finding by any side open to question and place the entire issue in a confused state,” he said.
“On the other hand, a joint and impartial investigation will not only promote the expedient resolution of the issue, it will also be in accordance with international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which places paramount emphasis on the use of peaceful means to resolve international disputes,” he added.
Meanwhile, Duterte said that the Recto Bank incident is not an attack on the country’s sovereignty despite happening in the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone.
In a speech in Davao City before departing for Thailand Friday, Duterte said that the incident did not happen inside the country’s territory so it cannot be called an attack on Philippine sovereignty. (Genalyn Kabiling with a report from Argyll Geducos)