Taiwan Rebuffs Aquino on Sea Death as Economic Ties at Risk (2)

Taiwan deployed fighter jets and a

destroyer for military exercises to waters disputed with the

Philippines, after rebuffing the Southeast Asian nation’s offer

to apologize over the killing of a fisherman in the area.

The Philippines violated international law in the May 9

shooting by one of its patrol boats, Taiwan Premier Jiang Yi-huah said in a television address. He said Taiwan couldn’t

accept that the killing was unintentional because the fishing

vessel was riddled with bullet holes.

“The Philippines explanation has been inconsistent and

lacking sincerity,” Jiang said. “Philippines officials killed

one of our fisherman in our waters. This violates international

law, maritime law, and the laws of morality, and yet they are

totally devoid of the will to resolve this.”

The dispute over the shooting stoked tensions in an area

rich in natural resources that’s beset by competing territorial

claims. Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou is battling a 14 percent

approval rating, while Philippines President Benigno Aquino must

weigh the potential losses if Filipino workers lose their jobs

on the island because of the dispute.

Taiwan’s defense ministry deployed a Kidd-class destroyer

and fighter jets as part of the military drill, Liu Hsun-cheng,

a ministry spokesman, said by phone today. The Coast Guard will

send four ships to join the exercise in the Bashi Channel, Shih

Yi-che, a spokesman, said by phone.

Earlier today, Ma recalled his representative from the

Philippines and froze the hiring of workers from the nation

because he believed Aquino’s response so far had been

inadequate, his government said in a statement.

Some Confidence

“This is an opportunity for him to shore up some

confidence,” Alexander Huang, a professor at Tamkang

University’s Institute of International Affairs and Strategic

Studies in Taipei, said of Ma. “The general public here demands

actions — they want to see punishments.”

After Ma’s decision, Aquino spokesman Edwin Lacierda

announced that the Philippine leader had appointed an envoy to

“convey his and the Filipino people’s deep regret and apology”

to the fisherman’s family and Taiwan’s people “over the

unfortunate and unintended loss of life.” The Philippines also

planned to compensate the fisherman’s family.

“We certainly would hope that the authorities in Taiwan

will see this gesture as a sincere gesture,” Lacierda said.

“We understand the grief and hurt of the family and of the

people of Taiwan over this unfortunate loss and we empathize

with them.”

Travel Warning

The measures imposed tonight also include a travel warning

and a halt to airspace negotiations and economic exchanges, the

Taiwan Cabinet said in a statement.

Aquino’s approval rating rose 4 percentage points to 72

percent in March, polling body Pulse Asia Inc. said last month.

His allies appeared set to control a majority in the 24-member

Senate after legislative elections two days ago.

Ma, re-elected in January 2012 with 52 percent of the vote,

had an approval rating of 14 percent in April, down from 15

percent in March, according to a poll by Taipei-based television

network TVBS. His approval rating between September and December

2012 stood at a record low of 13 percent.

Taiwan’s demand for talks on fishing resources may also

anger China, Huang said. China considers independently-governed

Taiwan part of its territory. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua

Chunying said May 10 that China is “deeply concerned about the

Philippines’ repeated shooting at unarmed fishermen.”

Philippine Claim

“The last thing Aquino wants to do is come across as weak,

especially if ultimately what he’s doing is undermining the

Philippine claims in that part of the South China Sea,” said

Ralf Emmers, associate professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of

International Studies in Singapore. While the apology he offered

seems like a good compromise, “Ma must have felt that domestic

pressure was so big this wasn’t good enough,” he said.

Taiwan was the eighth largest buyer of Philippine goods

last year, according to the Philippines’ National Statistics

Office. Taiwan exported $3.2 billion worth of goods to the

Philippines in the first four months of this year, while

importing $675 million, Taiwan’s finance ministry said.

About 54,000 Taiwanese traveled to the Philippines in the

first three months of the year, the fifth-biggest market

representing 4.2 percent of total arrivals, according to the

Philippines’ Department of Tourism.

Limits on Filipino workers, the third-largest group of

foreign workers in Taiwan, may slow Aquino’s push to cut a

jobless rate that climbed to 7.1 percent in January, with about

660,000 positions lost since October 2011. The Philippines’

overseas workforce accounts for about 10 percent of its gross

domestic product.

To contact the reporters on this story:

Yu-Huay Sun in Taipei at

ysun7@bloomberg.net;

Adela Lin in Taipei at

alin95@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:

Rosalind Mathieson at

rmathieson3@bloomberg.net

Taiwan Rebuffs Aquino on Sea Death as Economic Ties at Risk (2)