THE PHILIPPINES will discuss with China the payment for 22 Filipino fishermen who were abandoned at sea after their ship collided with a Chinese trawler in June last year, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

The agency said it had received the report from the Justice department proposing P12 million in damage claims, Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Eduardo Martin R. Menez said in a mobile phone message on Saturday night.

“The matter will now be subject to diplomatic engagement between the two governments, while advancing the claims and interests of the affected Gem-Ver fishermen,” he said.

The Chinese fishing boat, registered in Guangdong, took responsibility for the accident that it claimed was unintentional, two months after it happened at Reed Bank in the South China Sea, based on a letter sent to DFA. The owner said the Philippines should file a claim for damages related to the incident.

The Chinese Embassy on June 14 denied that a Chinese ship had sunk a Filipino boat in a “hit-and-run” incident. It said the Chinese ship was “besieged by seven or eight Filipino fishing boats,” preventing it from rescuing the Filipino fishermen.

https://www.bworldonline.com/manila-to-negotiate-p12-m-claim-vs-china-ship/