The captain of the Philippine fishing boat that was rammed and sunk by a Chinese vessel in Recto Bank said Tuesday he was saddened by President Rodrigo Duterte’s description of the incident as “a little maritime accident.” The Chinese vessel abandoned Insigne and his 21 companions on the FB Gemvir in open water, where they were rescued three hours later by a Vietnamese vessel. In a speech Monday night, or more than a week after the June 9 incident, Duterte described the collision as a “little maritime accident” and told the Philippine Navy to “stay out of trouble.”

Ramos-Araneta, & Mariano, N. (2019, June 19). Captain frets over Rody's quip. Manila Standard, pp. A1, A2.