Ex-Taiwan Manila envoy reflects on efforts to mend ties after fatal shooting

Taipei, Dec. 15 (CNA) Former Taiwan top envoy to the Philippines Gary Lin (林松煥) on Monday reflected on how he worked to rebuild bilateral relations through people-to-people exchanges in the aftermath of a 2013 fatal shooting that triggered a months-long diplomatic crisis between the two countries.

Speaking at a press event to promote his newly published memoir, Lin looked back on the challenges he faced when Taipei-Manila relations were at a low point following the Guang Da Xing No. 28 incident (廣大興事件) in May 2013.

Lin said he was originally posted to Norway but was asked by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take up the top envoy post in Manila in September 2014 due to his familiarity with the Philippines.

One of his first priorities, Lin said, was to promote friendlier exchanges between the two sides. This included amending a bilateral aviation agreement to increase direct flights, as well as easing visa regulations, such as simplifying procedures for organized tour groups, he said.

These measures helped boost the number of Filipino visitors to Taiwan from fewer than 200,000 visits annually to about 500,000, he said.

Lin served as Taiwan's representative to Manila more than a year after the May 2013 incident in which a Philippine Coast Guard patrol boat shot and killed 65-year-old Taiwanese fisherman Hung Shih-cheng (洪石成) in overlapping waters.

Following the incident, Taiwan imposed sanctions on the Philippines and conducted a two-day naval and coast guard drill near the site of the incident.

Convictions

After an investigation, the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation recommended that eight Philippine Coast Guard personnel involved in the shooting be charged with homicide. In September 2019, all eight were convicted, sentenced to between eight and 15 years in prison, and ordered to pay compensation to Hung's family.

Lin said the underlying cause of the incident was the absence of clearly defined, mutually agreed fishing boundaries in overlapping Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs).

However, because the Philippines, like most countries, adheres to the One-China policy and does not officially recognize the Republic of China (Taiwan), it was unlikely to engage in formal talks with Taipei on demarcating such boundaries, Lin said.

Instead, he said, he worked with the Philippine side to establish a mechanism to ensure that violence would not be used when fishermen from either country operate in overlapping EEZs.

These efforts culminated in a November 2015 agreement on law enforcement cooperation in fisheries matters. Since then, the Taiwan-Philippines Technical Working Group has met regularly to address and resolve fisheries disputes, he added.

Lin entered foreign service in 1980 and retired in 2018 after completing his tenure in Manila. He also served as Taiwan's ambassador to the Marshall Islands from 2001 to 2003.