Two Vietnamese dead, five arrested in chase with Philippine Navy
MANILA: Filipino military officials say two Vietnamese fishermen were killed and five others were taken into custody after they were spotted fishing off the northwestern Philippines and a night chase ensued with a Vietnamese boat hitting a Philippine navy ship and gunshots being fired.
Philippine navy information officer Lt Jose Covarrubias says the five Vietnamese, along with their two dead fellow fishermen, have been turned over to Filipino police authorities after the early yesterday incident off Bolinao town in northwestern Pangasinan province.
Covarrubias said today that details remained sketchy and that an investigation was underway.
Covarrubias said the incident happened within the 200nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone of the Philippines, a stretch of ocean where a coastal state has been granted exclusive rights to fish and exploit other sea resources.