Philippine military vessel fired on unarmed fishing boat from Taiwan

China strongly condemned the Philippines' "barbaric" fatal shooting of a 65-year-old fisherman from Taiwan on Thursday, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said on Friday.

"We strongly urge again that the Philippines investigate the case immediately and handle the issue properly. We will keep a close watch on the development of the incident," said Hua Chunying, spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at a daily news conference.

China expressed deep concern over the Philippines' repeated attacks against unarmed fishermen, Hua said.

"We wish to express deep grief over the death of the Taiwan fisherman and give condolences to the victim's family," Hua said.

Responding to a Philippine news report stating that some Chinese vessels were spotted near Ren'ai Jiao, Hua said China has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and their adjacent waters.

The shooting occurred at about 10 am on Thursday in an area about 160 nautical miles southeast of the southernmost tip of the island of Taiwan, according to Taiwan's coast guard authority.

The victim was identified as 65-year-old Hung Shih-cheng. Four seamen were on the boat, the Guang Ta Hsin 28. The other three — the victim's son, his son-in-law and an Indonesian fisherman —were all injured, the Beijing Times reported.

The Philippine vessel fired nearly 40 shots at the fishing boat.

After killing the fisherman, the Philippine armed vessel continued to chase and fire at the fishing boat for another hour and a half, according to reports carried by Taiwan media outlets.

【新闻快讯】

据新华社消息，台湾“农委会”渔业署副署长蔡日耀昨日证实，当日上午10时左右，台湾渔船“广大兴28号”在屏东县鹅銮鼻东南方约180海里处遭菲律宾军舰射击，一名船员死亡，船只也丧失动力。

事件发生后，台湾当局领导人马英九当天对渔民遭枪击身亡案表达高度重视，令当局有关部门掌握相关案情，务必维护民众权益。

5月10日，菲律宾海岸警卫队召开记者会，首度公开对外承认是菲海岸警卫队人员9日开枪射击一艘台湾渔船，造成船上一名台湾渔民死亡，但拒绝就此事道歉。发言人声称：“向渔船器械开火，目的是迫使船只无法继续作业，若有人死亡，我们表示同情，但不会因此道歉。”

外交部发言人华春莹表示，中方对此表示严重关切，我们对开枪射杀台湾渔民的野蛮行径表示强烈谴责。中方要求菲方立即进行调查，并尽快作出说明。我们对遇害的台湾同胞表示深切哀悼，对家属表示慰问。