Taipei, Feb. 10 (CNA) The Philippine government stands by its position on the deportation of 14 Taiwanese to China and reiterated that the expulsion was intended to serve social justice rather than issues of sovereignty or politics, the Philippines' representative to Taiwan told CNA Thursday.
Antonio Basilio, managing director of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taipei, urged both sides to "tone down the rhetoric" amidst the escalating diplomatic spat after the Southeast Asian country deported to China 14 Taiwanese suspects, arrested late last year on charges of cross-border fraud against Chinese nationals.
While Taiwan said the Philippines ignored its demands to repatriate the suspects back to Taiwan and insisted on an official apology from the Philippines, Manila stuck to its stance Thursday that it does not need to apologize to Taiwan.
"Apology can take many forms, " Basilio said during the interview without elaboration.
Philippine Secretary of Justice Leila De Lima did apologize to Donald Lee, Taiwan's envoy to Manila, for what Lee described as discourtesy and impropriety of action during the Bureau of Immigration's handling of the case, Basilio said.
However, "Secretary De Lima did not apologize for the actual deportation of the 14 Taiwanese to China, " he added.
The Philippines dealt with the case from the perspective of law enforcement, jurisdiction and social justice rather than from the point of view of politics and sovereignty, he said.
Taiwan could have claimed jurisdiction of the 14 Taiwanese suspects if its authorities had pressed charges or filed warrants for the suspects before their eventual deportation, the representative pointed out.
"If Taiwan did that, then the question of whose jurisdiction would arise... then that has to be settled by Taiwan and China. Or we could have tried the case in the Philippines, " he went on.
Basilio said comments made by Philippines Presidential Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr. a day earlier that his country's decision to send all the suspects to China was out of respect for Manila's "one China policy," was "not the position of the Philippine government."
The diplomat said he could see a "silver lining" for Taiwan-Philippines relations, which he said could be repaired if both sides tone down their rhetoric and enter discussions.
"We are taking Taiwan seriously but we have our own national interests to protect, " Basilio said. (By Chris Wang) ENDITEM/J