Taiwanese captain seized by Philippines criticizes Fisheries Agency response

Taipei, May 22 (CNA) A Taiwanese captain seized by the Philippine authorities expressed disappointment Thursday over what he called the Fisheries Agency's poor handling of the incident.

Chen Tsung-tun (陳宗頓), a fisherman based in Xiaoliuqiu who returned to Taiwan on Wednesday, told reporters the agency failed to immediately notify the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) after the incident occurred early Monday.

Instead, Fisheries Agency personnel called his mother and asked whether he had contacted home. After learning he had not, they reportedly told her, "No worries," Chen said.

"They did make multiple phone calls to us," said Chen's daughter. "But they didn't tell us what had happened until we asked them directly."

The incident occurred shortly after midnight Sunday, when the Sheng Yu Feng (昇漁豐號) was operating in the southern part of the overlapping fishing zone between Taiwan and the Philippines, but outside the Philippines' contiguous zone -- 12 to 24 nautical miles off its coast, Chen said.

A group of 12 armed men boarded the vessel without warning and dragged Chen and his crew onto the deck "like dogs," he recalled.

Chen said his crew did not resist, as there was no way to communicate with the officials. However, he said the Philippine authorities "acted like Somali pirates" and confiscated not only his catch but also personal belongings -- losses he estimated at NT$300,000 (US$9,991).

According to Fisheries Agency records, the ship was intercepted 91 nautical miles southeast of Eluanbi, Taiwan's southernmost tip.

However, action was only taken after Chen's family contacted lawmaker Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸), who then urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to intervene, he said.

The Philippine side agreed to release the boat, crew, and captain on Monday afternoon after the CGA dispatched a ship to negotiate, with Chen returning to Taiwan on Wednesday morning.

Chen said he had experienced a similar incident several years ago, but the CGA had responded quicker at that time. He criticized the Fisheries Agency's slow response on this occasion and blamed them for not immediately notifying the CGA.

Meanwhile, Chen's family said the actions of Philippine officials violated the 2015 Agreement Concerning the Facilitation of Cooperation on Law Enforcement in Fisheries Matters, signed between Taiwan and the Philippines.

The agreement calls for avoiding the use of violence or unnecessary force, and notifying the other party before law enforcement actions. These protocols were not followed, the family argued.

In a statement, the Fisheries Agency said its Fisheries Monitoring Center did attempt to contact Chen immediately. When there was no response, the agency called his family to ask if they had heard from him and informed them that it had also requested assistance from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.