Intentional?

I could not believe what I read. A Filipino fishing boat anchored off Recto Bank was hit by a Chinese fishing boat last Sunday evening. As the Philippine boat sank, no effort was made by the Chinese crew to rescue them, instead they just left the area. A Vietnamese fishing vessel that was fortunately in the area saved all of them. Thank God nobody drowned.

The condemnation of the incident has been swift and harsh, as it should, particularly from Defense Secretary Lorenzana and DFA Secretary Locsin. According to Lorenzana, the Chinese have shown their cowardice through their actions. A diplomatic protest has been filed by the DFA against China. How is China considered a friend after an incident like this? Obviously, the Chinese intentionally left the Filipino fishermen to fend for themselves, as if that was even easy to do. Why? Was it to drive a point that the West Philippine Sea belongs to China even though Recto Bank is so close to the country? For argument’s sake, let’s call it an accident. The Chinese vessel should not have left the Philippine crew which is against all international protocol, or even plain decency. Any red-blooded Filipino would be furious. But then again, we are talking about the Chinese who seem to have no respect for international law. Even during World War II, enemy sailors from any country were rescued after their ships sank.

From what we know, it seems the Chinese intentionally rammed the Philippine boat. How do we make sense of the actions of the Chinese fishing boat? Based on the number of the Filipino crew, I would say this was a larger fishing boat than what the local fishermen usually have. Maybe the Chinese did not want any kind of competition in the area, hence the ramming. This puts the friendly ties being arduously pursued by the administration in question. Did the Chinese captain receive orders from Beijing, including leaving survivors after the ramming? Did he act on his own? I hope nobody defends the Chinese actions just because, well, they are Chinese and are supposed to be our “friends”.

The military is still waiting for the actual accounts from the fishermen, who hopefully will be repatriated soon. The events will become more apparent when they are interviewed. We thank the Vietnamese vessel for rescuing our people. This proves that both countries are one against the bullying of China. We had to find out about the incident on Independence Day. It is just infuriating.