美國務院記者會：台菲爭端 2013/05/14-17

美國務院記者會：台菲爭端2013/05/14-17

【Comment】

13日美國在未知故事下，採取全然樂觀態度。

14日，不敢回答。此時出現菲律賓的一中政策。

15日，再度提起菲律賓保證進行完整快速的調查，並與台灣合作（cooperate promptly and fully with Taiwan investigators.）——與台灣調查員合作，不一定表示與台灣攜手調查。即便對於確實地點，國務院只敢說約略（in or near disputed waters）在爭議水域內或附近。因為實際上也沒見到報告。

16日，記者提及美國駐菲大使說美國（we）讚賞菲律賓表達遺憾（regret）。國務院表示讚賞菲律賓總統個人代表對家屬與台灣人民的深深遺憾與道歉。記者問及菲律賓司法部拒絕此想法。記者提及台灣的演習國務院表示不希望緊張升高。記者問美國人死於海外武裝衝突事件中，美國常要求聯合調查，或與FBI合作。為何其他國家不應如此？（When an American dies in a potentially hostile incident abroad, you often ask for joint investigations or collaboration with the FBI.  Why should other countries not expect the same?）國務院喃喃自語the Philippine Government is conducting an investigation.  W e encourage them to do so.  。

17日，記者問美國在此事中學到什麼？國務院再度照本宣科，鼓勵菲律賓儘快調查，雙方合作云云。國務院代理助卿 Joe Yun 在國會中表達對家屬之不幸事件的同情。但記者追問，實際上Joe Yun也承認其尚不知真相。

記者問及假使雙方不願降溫，假使美國不介入，則中國變成調停者會如何？（And if the U.S. doesn’t want to get involved, what will your reaction be if China propose to be the mediator?）國務院說此為假設性問題，又吧啦吧啦說一堆。

2013/05/13 美國國務院記者會──菲國海盜殺人部分

 

Daily Press Briefing◎DoS（2013.05.17）http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2013/05/209579.htm

QUESTION:  And on Taiwan today, I know my colleague and I have been asking this for a week, and State Department are reluctant to make any comment before the investigation coming out.  But both sides from Taiwan and Philippine just released their investigation unilaterally.  So far, what U.S. has learned?  And seems like there is very two different version of the story.

MS. PSAKI:  Well, I haven’t had an opportunity to review the reports that have come out.  This continues to be an issue, and we have actually spoken to it pretty extensively from the podium and called it a tragic death.  We’ve encouraged, of course, the Philippine Government to continue with their investigation and to pursue all avenues for that.  This is an issue that we encourage both sides to work through together.  That remains our position, and we’re happy to take a closer look at the reports that have come out.

QUESTION:  And yesterday you mentioned you didn’t know that Philippine refused to cooperate with Taiwan to have a joint investigation.  Do you have any follow-up?

MS. PSAKI:  I think I said I would take a closer look at it.  This is an issue where, again, it’s up to the Government of the Philippines, to the Taiwan authorities, to work through together.  Obviously, we regret the tragic death of this fishing boat master.  We’ve said that a couple times from here.  That, of course, remains the case.  I’d also point you to the fact that, Joe Yun, our Acting Assistant Secretary, expressed his condolences to the family for this unfortunate loss of life when he was on Capitol Hill.  So we’ve repeatedly expressed that.  Unfortunately, I don’t think I have anything new for you on this today.

QUESTION:  He said that he didn’t know what really happened.  But so far, there is so many information already provided.  So U.S. doesn’t still --

MS. PSAKI:  Well, we didn’t want to weigh in on an investigation that the Philippine Government was going to take underway.  I haven’t seen their report on the investigation, but again, we’ll take a closer look at that.

Go ahead in the back.

QUESTION:  A follow-up.  If the two sides they don’t want to work together, will the U.S. get involved?  And if the U.S. doesn’t want to get involved, what will your reaction be if China propose to be the mediator?

MS. PSAKI:  There’s a lot of hypotheticals there, which I’m not going to weight into.  But we encourage – continue to encourage both sides to work together.  We’ve been in touch with both the Government of the Philippines as well as the Taiwan authorities.  We hope they will work together.  We continue to encourage that.  And beyond that I’m not going to get ahead of where things are.

 

 

Daily Press Briefing◎DoS（2013.05.16）http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2013/05/209511.htm#PHILIPPINES

QUESTION:  It’s about Taiwan and Philippines.  So yesterday in Manila, American Ambassador to the Philippines Harry Thomas talked to the reporters and expressed confidence that the two sides will work together, and these things will be resolved through negotiation.  And he said “we” applaud Philippines’ expression of regret over this incident.  So do you consider that his statement represented the position of the U.S.?

MS. PSAKI:  Well, we’ve talked about this quite a bit over the last couple of days, before I went to Sweden, while I was in Sweden.  And we’ve expressed, of course, our regret for the death of this individual.  We continue to urge both parties to ensure – to work together and to ensure maritime safety, and refrain from actions that could further escalate tensions.  But it is up for the people of the Philippines and Taiwan authority to determine the steps moving forward.

QUESTION:  Follow-up here?

QUESTION:  But does the U.S. applaud the Philippines’ expression of regret?

MS. PSAKI:  That is not for us to define from here.

QUESTION:  But we cannot --

MS. PSAKI:  Go ahead.

QUESTION:  Jen, here is something that Patrick said yesterday: He said the U.S. welcomes the Philippines Government’s pledge to conduct thorough and expeditious investigation into the incident and cooperate promptly and fully with the Taiwanese investigators.  The fact of the matter is, when the Taiwanese investigators arrived in Manila, there was no government official there to receive them, there was no meetings scheduled, and the justice secretary even rejected the idea of a joint investigation.  What is your comment on this?  The shifting positions of the Philippine Government, which actually enraged a lot of people in Taiwan.

MS. PSAKI:  Well, I have not seen those reports you’re referencing.  I know Patrick said this yesterday, we continue to welcome the Philippine Government’s pledge to conduct a thorough investigation in this case.  We’re hopeful they will move forward on that.  I have not seen those reports you referenced, so I’ll have to take a closer look at those.

QUESTION:  One other – another note.  Would you urge the Philippine Government to actually cooperate with Taiwanese investigators?  Would you urge them to conduct a joint investigation with their Taiwanese colleagues?

Another question I have here before we move to another people, Taiwan has sent warships and patrol boats to the areas of the incident to actually escort and protect its fishing boats.  How do you – is the U.S. notified of this in advance? How do you see that?

MS. PSAKI:  Well, we are aware that the Taiwan Navy and Taiwan Coast Guard conducted an exercise south of Taiwan today.  Questions about the conduct of that exercise would of course be appropriately directed to Taiwan authorities.  And Patrick did say this yesterday as well, but we urge both Taiwan and the Philippines to exercise restraint and address the events of last week and take steps to minimize the likelihood of future confrontations.

QUESTION:  What about joint investigation, Philippine and Taiwanese?

MS. PSAKI:  I don’t want to speculate.  Again, the Philippines have said – Philippine Government, I should say, has pledged to conduct a thorough and expeditious investigation and we encourage them to do so.

QUESTION:  When an American dies in a potentially hostile incident abroad, you often ask for joint investigations or collaboration with the FBI.  Why should other countries not expect the same?

MS. PSAKI:  Again, Brad, the Philippine Government is conducting an investigation.  We encourage them to do so.  I don’t think I’m going to foray into this any further today.

 

 

Daily Press Briefing◎DoS（2013.05.15）http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2013/05/209447.htm#PHILIPPINES

It looks like we have some questions maybe on the Philippines and Taiwan.  (Laughter.) I’m just guessing.

QUESTION:  Yeah.  Patrick, do you have anything new to say on the fatal shooting of the Taiwanese fisherman by the Philippines?  Jen said a couple of days ago that the United States was in contact with both Taiwan and the Philippines.  How is your communication with both sides?  How effective is your communication?  Because the problem seems to be far from ending.  Thank you.

MR. VENTRELL:  Thanks for the question – John, am I correct?

QUESTION:  Yes.

MR. VENTRELL:  Thanks, John.  So, we’re concerned by the increase in tensions between two neighboring democracies and close partners of the United States in the Asia Pacific region.  We note that the Philippine President appointed a personal representative to Taiwan to convey his deep regret and apology to the family of the fisherman and the people of Taiwan.  We welcome the Philippine Government’s pledge to conduct a thorough and expeditious investigation into the incident and cooperate promptly and fully with Taiwan investigators.  We urge the Philippines and Taiwan to take all appropriate measures to clarify disagreements and prevent recurrence of such tragic events.  And we continue to urge both parties to ensure maritime safety and to refrain from actions that could further escalate tensions in the region and undermine the prospects for a rapid and effective resolution of differences.

QUESTION:  How is your communication with both sides so far?

MR. VENTRELL:  You know that these are partners with whom we have extensive relationships.  I’m not going to get into the day-to-day readout of our diplomacy, whether it’s from Washington or our posts overseas.  But I’m just not going to get into that level of detail.

QUESTION:  Patrick, just about some factual data, is it – have you learned exactly the location of the incident?  And when the investigation will be revealed to the public?  So far, how much fact have you learned?

MR. VENTRELL:  I don’t have any information on when the investigation may be completed, and refer you to the Government of the Philippines.  But it appears the incident took place in or near disputed waters where the Philippines and Taiwan both claim fishing rights.  The United States does not take a position on the proper location of a maritime boundary in that area.

QUESTION:  What is “in or near disputed area” – so it’s disputed whether it’s in disputed area or not?

MR. VENTRELL:  I mean, again, that’s a pretty rough estimate.

QUESTION:  Can’t you just say it’s in disputed area then?

MR. VENTRELL:  Again, this is in or near disputed waters.  That’s all the accuracy we – that’s all the level of detail we have.

QUESTION:  And that’s everywhere in the world, correct?

MR. VENTRELL: (Laughter.)

QUESTION:  Everywhere in the water, it must be in or at some point near to disputed waters. (Laughter.)

MR. VENTRELL:  The point is, Brad, we’re not able to pinpoint exactly whether it was inside the disputed waters or --

QUESTION:  It was in the water.

MR. VENTRELL:  -- or very nearby that disputed area.

QUESTION:  Okay.

MR. VENTRELL:  That’s the point.  Bingru, go ahead.

QUESTION:  Taiwanese leader Ma Ying-jeou actually rejected the Philippines apology as lacking sincerity.  Do you consider Philippines apology is sincere?

MR. VENTRELL:  Well, again, in terms of an apology, this is a determination for the Taiwan authorities to make, and they can discuss that as appropriate directly with the Government of the Philippines.  So that’s a judgment that they’re making.

QUESTION:  And you also mentioned your concern about the increase tension.  Are you concerned this conflict, as it’s rising, would undermine the U.S. interest in Asia Pacific?

MR. VENTRELL:  Again, I’m not going to draw sort of that broad a conclusion, other than to say that we’re concerned about this increase in tension.  And so these are two partners that we have a robust relationship with both of them and we want them to work through their differences on this issue as expeditiously as they can.

QUESTION:  So, to what level do you have contact with both side?

MR. VENTRELL:  I already answered that question, that we have diplomatic discussions, but I’m just not going to get into the back-and-forth of every discussion at every level.

QUESTION:  Patrick, the death of the Taiwanese fisherman was a main factor why there has been outrage all over Taiwan.  The United States has expressed regret over the death of the fisherman.  Would the United States express something more than regret?  Sympathy or – because, after all, Taiwan is an ally of the United States, as you say.

MR. VENTRELL:  It is up to the Philippines and Taiwan to determine the specific terms of the resolution on this immediate issue.  We’ve said we have already on the specific incident.

Nike, you go ahead.  You’ve been waiting in the back.

QUESTION:  Yeah. Patrick, you mentioned several times about maritime security.  Broadly speaking, is it against the code of conduct or the freedom of navigation to use violence against any party in disputed waters?

MR. VENTRELL:  Well, code of conduct is something that’s still being worked through, and it’s something we’ve encouraged, so that there are rules of the road.  And so this is not something that is a process that’s been completed, but it’s precisely incidents such as this which underscore the need for a code of conduct as we work through these issues in the wide range of the Pacific where there are disputed areas of territorial waters and other claims to various territories.

QUESTION:  Well, Patrick, there are some story indicated that U.S. has dissuaded Taiwan to send a military ship to protect their fishermen.  And – so I would just wonder, do you want it clarified, does U.S. really involve in this kind of conversation?  And – because there is some criticism from Taiwan about a U.S. action.

MR. VENTRELL:  Yeah, I’m not aware – I don’t have any information on that one way or another on that specific item.  I think I’ve done what I can on this issue.  Are there – one more.

QUESTION:  Yeah.  Taiwan says apology from Philippine over the shooting is inadequate, and threatens to impose more sanctions.  How do you see these sanctions?

MR. VENTRELL:  I already answered that question.  So, okay.

 

 

Daily Press Briefing◎DoS（2013.05.14）http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2013/05/209377.htm#PHILIPPINES

QUESTION:  On the fatal shooting of the Taiwanese fisherman by Philippine Government personnel in the South China Sea, the Philippine Government has actually accepted three of the four conditions in President Ma’s ultimatum.  And I was wondering whether or not you have any new comment on that, because these are the developments since Jen made her statement yesterday.

MR. VENTRELL:  I have absolutely nothing further for you beyond what Jen said here today in a rather lengthy exchange that you all had.

Go ahead.

QUESTION:  On Japan, it’s constitution.

...

QUESTION:  I have two questions.  A follow-up on the Philippines fisherman – Taiwanese fisherman’s death.  First of all, as Philippine agreed to apologize, do you think Philippine bear all the responsibility to this fatal death?

MR. VENTRELL:  Our understanding is the investigation is ongoing.  I have nothing further for you beyond what Jen said yesterday.

QUESTION:  And the Philippine President says Philippine is going to deal with this aftermath according to One-China principle, but Taiwanese Government said they are not going to accept this.  What is your stance on this?

MR. VENTRELL:  Again, sorry to disappoint, but I really have nothing to say beyond what we said yesterday.

QUESTION:  Patrick --

QUESTION:  Thank you.

MR. VENTRELL:  Okay. Thank you.