Panelo: Duterte has accepted China’s offer for joint probe into Recto Bank incident

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(Eagle News)–President Rodrigo Duterte has accepted China’s offer for a Philippines -China joint investigation into the Recto Bank incident, the Palace said on Saturday, June 21.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the President “wants the creation of a joint investigating committee that shall be composed of three groups of highly qualified and competent individuals, with Philippines and China having one representative each, and a third member coming from a neutral party.”

Panelo said having separate probes “will put any finding by any side open to question and place the entire issue in a confused state.”

“A joint and impartial investigation will not only promote the expedient resolution of the issue, it will also be in accordance with international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which places paramount emphasis on the use of peaceful means to resolve international disputes,” Panelo said.

“We are demanding justice for our countrymen, and we are using all legal means toward that end,” Panelo said, adding that the Philippines was “not relinquishing any inch of our sovereign rights, nor compromising the rights of our 22 fishermen.”

Panelo issued the statement after Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said there would be no joint probe, adding that the Palace supported him.

Locsin made the remark after Panelo said Duterte “welcomes” China’s proposal for a joint investigation into the June 13 incident that saw a Chinese vessel hitting a Philippine fishing boat and abandoning it.