More than two months after the incident occurred, the owner of the Chinese fishing vessel that rammed the Filipino fishing boat FB Gimver 1 with 22 Filipino fishermen on board in Recto Bank on June 9 has expressed his “sincere apology” for the “accidental collision.”
This was learned from a supposed apology letter contained in a memo to Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. dated Aug. 28, 2019, a copy of which was posted on Twitter by the Department of Foreign Affairs.
The DFA described the content of the memo as “Embassy’s (Chinese) translation of a key portion of the letter.”
“The ship owner of the Chinese fishing vessel involved, through our Association, would like to express his sincere apology to the Filipino fishermen,” the Chinese side said in the translated portion of the letter.
The identity and exact origin of the letter sender is not yet clear as of posting time as both the Chinese Embassy and the DFA have yet to reply to media queries.
Based on the memo, the accident was an “accidental collision” between the Chinese and a Philippine fishing boat that caused the latter to sink together with all its 13 crew members.
It further stated that after the accident, the Chinese fishermen association has “timely asked” for information from the ship owner, ship captain, and crew of the fishing boat involved and “investigated the accident.”
Initial reports received by Philippine authorities hours after the incident revealed that the Chinese vessel hurriedly left the area, leaving the Filipino fishermen drowning and exposed to the elements of the sea. Luckily, a nearby Vietnamese vessel rescued all the Filipino fishermen.
“We believe that, although this accident was an unintentional mistake of the Chinese fishermen, the Chinese fishing boat should, however, take the major responsibility in the accident,” the Chinese side said in the memo.
Furthermore, it asked the Philippine side to “file a specific appeal for civil compensation based on the actual lost.”
“Our Association will urge the ship owner of the fishing boat involved to actively coordinate with the Philippine side to expedite the latter’s claim for compensation according to the procedures for insurance claim,” the Chinese said.