Philippines' Duterte accepts China's proposal to jointly investigate collision

MANILA, June 22 (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo
Duterte has accepted China's proposal to jointly investigate
allegations that a Chinese fishing vessel abandoned 22 Filipinos
after it sank their boat in the South China Sea, his spokesman
said on Saturday.
But aside from China and the Philippines, Duterte wants a
third country to be included in the joint investigating
committee that will be created to determine what really
transpired in the Reed Bank, Presidential Spokesman Salvador
Panelo said.
"We are by no means relinquishing any inch of our sovereign
rights, nor compromising the rights of our 22 fishermen. We are
demanding justice for our countrymen, and we are using all legal
means toward that end," Panelo said in a statement.
Critics have accused Duterte of toeing China's line rather
than taking a stand in defence of his country's fishermen and
its sovereign rights after he described the sinking as a "little
maritime accident".
Duterte's defence minister, navy chief and spokesman have
publicly denounced the Chinese crew. His foreign minister,
Teodoro Locsin had lodged a protest with Beijing and in a tweet
on Friday rejected the idea of a joint investigation.
The issue could complicate what are determined efforts by
Duterte to build a strong relationship with China, despite deep
mistrust among his U.S.-allied defence apparatus, which remains
wary about China's maritime militarization and what it sees as
bullying and denial of Manila's access to its own offshore oil
and gas reserves.
The sinking took place on June 9 near the Reed Bank, the
site of untapped gas deposits that an international arbitration
court in 2016 ruled the Philippines had sovereign rights to
exploit. Beijing disputes that.
China's embassy in Manila has said the crew had sought to
rescue the Filipino fishermen but fled after being "suddenly
besieged by seven or eight Filipino fishing boats". "A joint and impartial investigation will not only promote
the expedient resolution of the issue, it will also be in
accordance with international law ... which places paramount
emphasis on the use of peaceful means to resolve international
disputes", Panelo said.