Posted on 05/22/2013 9:23:13 PM PDT by TexGrill
If news reports correctly reflect public sentiment, it seems fair to deduce that worry and frustration are rising in the Philippines amid diplomatic tension with Taiwan, triggered by the tragic killing of a 65-year-old Taiwanese fisherman by members of the Philippine Coast Guard on May 9 in Balintang Channel.
Angered by the incident, Taiwan has made four demands: a formal apology, compensation, punishment for the guilty officers, and fishing talks. Taiwan has since stopped issuing work visas to Filipinos and has conducted military exercises near Philippine waters.
To make matters worse, Filipinos, especially politicians, did not immediately recognize the political and subsequent economic blowback of the May 9 shooting as their attention was focused on the May 13 midterm elections.
Taiwan’s military drill did not bother many people, but the economic sanctions alarmed Filipinos eager to work or do business in Taiwan, which is the Philippines’ ninth biggest trading partner. There are 87,000 Filipinos working in Taiwan, mainly in the manufacturing sector.
Accurate or not, news reports about Filipinos being harassed or harmed by angry Taiwanese has caused further anxiety, prompting some to ask if the government has a contingency plan or reintegration program for migrant workers who will be forced to return if the tension escalates. Further, Taiwanese tourists were reportedly leaving the Philippines in large numbers, hurting travel operators. The Taiwanese are among the top foreign visitors to the Philippines.
(Excerpt) Read more at thediplomat.com ...
Time to cut Taiwan loose and their BS grandstanding with the Philippines. Its like beating up the the weakest kid in the class. Let them deal with China themselves.
This is just stupid. These countries should be natural allies, both being threatened by a rising China.
To have such a dispute over one incident shows that relations are not nearly where they should be.
It should be automatic that a country inform the other country of the incident, warn them that fishing vessels not enter their waters without permission and apologize for the shooting incident.
The Philippines seem like an immature country in a lot of ways while Taiwan, with a chip on its shoulder wants to pretend that it is old Nationalist China that doesn’t exist any more.
a formal apology, compensation, punishment for the guilty officers, and fishing talks
This doesn’t seem too unreasonable (bearing in mind that Asians do see things like this very differently to other ethnic groups). An apology is warranted, compensation to the victim’s family is fair, punishment for the coast guard who made the mistake is basic, and fishing talks are non-binding.
I think an earlier poster was right in saying that these two are natural allies against China. They should resolve this.
I'll agree the optics are not good. This is like beating up a guy in a wheelchair.
Either way you slice it ... after the good ol USA these folks are good places... throw in South Korea and Australia and I have my Lotto winning numbers Dream Trip and it’s actually not a given that I would return from any of them.
TT
(more than likely end up staying in the Philippines, the other 3 have more stringent Immigration Policies and I like things simple)
The Philippines keep compromising with the Muslims who have total control of some of its southern islands.
The people are great. The government is one basket case after another.
Yes, I have some of their recent history, some of it is pretty crazy
Their front line fighter is the OV-10 Bronco which was used for strafing and bombing the VC and the NVA in Vietnam. To call the Philippines the sick man of the region is an insult to sick men.
Yep. Their military is pretty much a joke for their size, or for any size really.
Yeah but they have a long history of putting them down when they get too uppity as well... I know people from those Southern Islands and they pretty much say... it’s who you are with, who you know... it’s stupid to go anywhere without those 2 bases covered. (and the same could be said about Detroit, New Orleans, Los Angeles or New York City)
Especially these days
TT
Maybe in Taiwan you expect apologies and compensation for one of your elderly being killed unjustly. I don’t see anything wrong with that.
Let the dog faced muts of the world fight it out
The Philippines = The Mexico of Asia
Been here 11 years and you're right the people are great but these are the same people who have voted the past administrations and the present into office.
Then again, their military is probably oriented towards internal security, and counter insurgency.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.