(Eagle News)–The Philippines has filed a diplomatic protest following the sinking of a Filipino fishing boat by a Chinese vessel in the West Philippine Sea, and the “abandonment” by the latter’s crew of the 22 Filipino fishermen.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teddy Locsin made the announcement in response to Senator Antonio Trillanes IV the Philippines filed the protest before the International Maritime Organization.
“I fired off a diplomatic protest yesterday. The Maritime Safety Committee of the IMO is it; but, Sonny, that I will proceed on the merits of the case and what it calls for while the matter is studied by the IMO. Even our ally failed us in Scarborough, remember?” Losin told Trillanes over Twitter.
The filing came on the same day Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana condemned the actions of the crew of the Chinese vessel that hit F/B GIMVER 1 on June 9.
He, on the other hand, thanked the crew of a Vietnamese vessel who saved the Filipino fishermen.
The Palace has condemned the incident, and urged Chinese authorities to probe what happened, and to file the proper charges against the crew members of the Chinese vessel.