Better late than never

Taiwan media reported on Tuesday night that the Philippines has partially accepted Taiwan's request lodged after the killing of a Taiwan fisherman by the Philippine Coast Guard on Thursday. It seems Manila has finally come to terms with the severity of the incident.

Still, Manila needs to match words with deeds. The belated move itself is no guarantee that Manila would act in a more reasonable and responsible manner.

Details revealed by Taiwan authorities show the local fishing vessel was hit by more than 50 bullets from the Filipino coast guard vessel in waters where Taiwan and the Philippines have overlapping jurisdiction. Fisherman Hung Shih-cheng, 65, was killed. The Philippine Coast Guard admitted its personnel killed the fisherman on Friday.

Since then, both Taiwan and the mainland have reacted strongly to the incident. And their indignations are fully justified as the magnitude of the offence, an outrageous violation of international law and morality, is beyond tolerance.

While both sides of the Taiwan Straits have condemned the incident in strong terms, Taiwan has demanded a formal apology, a timely investigation, punishment of those responsible and compensations. Media reports say Antonio Basilio, Manila's de-facto representative to Taiwan, has accepted three of the four requests on Tuesday. Before this, however, Manila's responses have been utterly irresponsible.

Chinese compatriots on both sides of the Straits were offended by the sight of a light-hearted Philippine deputy presidential spokeswoman smiling broadly when addressing the incident at a news conference.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino's comments on Monday were also unsatisfactory, because he was obviously trying to get around the core of the issue.

Monday's protests staged by hundreds of people outside the Philippine representative office in Taipei provide clear proof of Chinese people's indignation at Manila's way of handling the incident.

This is not the first time that the Philippine Coast Guard has committed such violent acts against Chinese fishermen. It even got away with killing another fisherman from Taiwan in 2006 without shouldering its due responsibility.

Given Manila's history of irresponsible behavior and the fact that it has not received a severe punishment for such acts, both Taiwan and the mainland should make sure that this time it will not be allowed to escape without paying a price.

For Manila's part, it should truly reflect upon its provocative behavior in the region and stop playing dirty.