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By Rolynda Jonathan
The Republic of China-Taiwan has warned the Philippines to respond to its ultimatum following a shooting of one of its fishing vessels last week.
On May 9, a Philippine government ship allegedly shot upon an unarmed Taiwanese fishing vessel in waters overlapping both country’s economic zones, killing one of its fisherman.
During a meeting with Palau’s House of Delegates Speaker Sabino Anastacio in Taiwan, President Ma explained that the 72-hour ultimatum following the incident remains valid and actions will be taken if the Philippines fails to positively respond to the requests.
Taiwan is demanding the Philippines to make a formal apology, make due compensation, conduct thorough investigation and punish those responsible for the killing.
Taiwan has also asked the Philippines to negotiate a bilateral fishery agreement to prevent future fishing disputes.
But as tensions continue to rise, Taiwan is threatening to take immediate actions in recalling representatives in the Philippines, suspending processing employment applications of Filipino nationals and requesting Philippine representatives in Taiwan to return to Manila.
Addressing reporters in Manila, Philippines President appealed for calm in handling the incident.
When asked if the incident has any impact on Palau, Taiwan Embassy told OTV that there has been no official instruction from Taiwan regarding the matter.