The Chinese Foreign Ministry has warned the Philippines against politicizing the boat’s sinking, which it described as a “ordinary maritime incident.” The Filipino boat’s crew — rescued by a Vietnamese vessel — has claimed that the Chinese deliberately rammed the F/B Gemvir 1 in a hit-and-run attack. The Department of Foreign Affairs has said that a diplomatic protest was immediately filed and that Chinese officials had committed to investigate the incident. Over the weekend, the Chinese embassy in Manila claimed that the Yuemaobinyu 42212 had tried to assist the Gemvir 1, but was forced to flee after it was “besieged” by up to eight Filipino vessels. This has been dismissed by observers, who pointed out that steel-hulled Chinese fishing vessels had little to fear from much smaller outrigger-equipped Filipino fishing boats.

Villanueva, R. U., Jalea, G., Tamayo, B. E., Dela Cruz, D. N. J., & Piad, T. C. (2019, June 17). Palace: Cabinet execs to discuss boat sinking. The Manila Times, pp. A1, A2.