MANILA: A Taiwanese has been arrested for illegal fishing in the Philippines, police said on Thursday as the two neighbours try to mend fences after the shooting death of another Taiwanese fisherman in May.
Tsai Po, 54, was detained on Tuesday while diving for lobsters off the coast in the Philippines’ Batan group of islands near the maritime border with Taiwan, provincial police officer Victor de Sagon said.
“They have been doing this for a long time. This is rampant poaching,” said De Sagon, adding that Tsai was among a group of suspects who were illegally fishing just off Siayan island.
He will be charged with poaching, which is punishable by a US$100,000 fine, confiscation of his catch, fishing equipment and fishing vessel, the officer added.
De Sagon rejected reports in the Taiwanese press that the detained suspect had been treated roughly.
“We are not violating his rights. He is being fed well, he underwent a medical check-up, and he is in regular contact with his wife and the (de facto) Taiwanese embassy in Manila,” De Sagon said.
Tsai, contacted by phone from Taipei, said he did not understand why he was detained because he spoke no English.
He claimed that he was in Taiwanese waters when taken into custody by people “who were in plain clothes and acted like pirates”.
“I was handcuffed and asked to kneel on the floor of my boat for many hours and three or four persons pointed guns at me. I was scared and my feet, waist and hands ached. I hope I can go home soon,” he said from a police station in Batan, where he is being held.
Officials at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Manila, which represents Taiwan’s interests in the Philippines, could not be reached for comment.
The arrest followed a diplomatic row triggered by the shooting death of a 65-year-old crew member of a Taiwanese fishing boat on May 9 by a Filipino coastguard patrol.
An angry Taiwan announced sanctions including a ban on the hiring of new Filipino workers.
The neighbours began repairing the rift after Filipino authorities in August recommended homicide charges against the coastguards, and Taiwan lifted its sanctions.
The shooting occurred in waters also claimed by Taiwan near the Batan islands.
AFP
