Probers of the Philippines and Taiwan will meet sometime this week to discuss their findings on the killing of a Taiwan fisherman on May 9, prior to the release of their respective reports, Philippine Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said Wednesday.
The two probe teams are expected to exchange notes on their respective findings, but not necessarily to cross-check facts, she told reporters in a chance interview.
"Both can actually release their respective reports any time. Taiwan requested to have that session and we do not see anything wrong with such request as long as they will not insist that we adopt their findings in case our findings are different," De Lima said.
De Lima said that the Philippine side had to honor a previous agreement between the two parties to first sit down and discuss their findings, before divulging it in public.
The shooting incident happened at sea 164 nautical miles southeast of Taiwan on May 9, when Philippine Coast Guard officers shot and killed 65-year-old Taiwanese fisherman Hung Shih-Cheng.
The Philippine coast guard admitted later firing at the Taiwan fishing boat.
Investigation team from the Philippine National Bureau of Investigations (NBI) has gone to Taiwan to inspect the fishing vessel involved in the shooting and interview some of the witnesses. Meanwhile, their counterparts from the Taiwan Criminal Investigation Bureau has likewise come to Manila for their own investigation.
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