Want China Times
Date: 2015-06-19
By: Staff Reporter
A standoff between Philippine and Taiwanese coast guard vessels off the coast of Batanes on June 6
A Taiwan Coast Guard Administration vessel off the coast of Kaohsiung on June 6. (Photo/CNA)
has caused Manila to be concerned about possible cooperation between Taipei and Beijing over the disputed South China Sea in the future, our sister paper Want Daily reports.
Noli De Castro, the former vice president of the Philippines and an anchor for Manila’s ABS-CBN network, accused Taiwan of bullying the nation together with China.
The standoff between Taiwanese coast guard vessel and Maritime Control Ship 3004 of the Philippines took place near waters off the island of Itbayat. Less than 200 kilometers from Taiwan, Itbayat is the northernmost municipality of the Philippines.
During the two-hour confrontation, the Taiwanese coast guard vessel claimed the waters of Itbayat as the exclusive economic zone of Taiwan, to which the Philippine vessel said the ship was in Philippine territorial waters and requested the Taiwanese ship check its charts. The Taiwanese ship initially indicated that it would leave the area, still claiming that it was within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone, but remained in position and later said it would not depart. The Philippine ship had no communication with headquarters or any government agency during the standoff. The ship’s crew later sang the Philippine national anthem. [FULL STORY]
