an accident but a deliberate maneuver to ram the smaller vessel." Philippine Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio also stated that it was "highly likely that a Chinese maritime militia vessel rammed the Filipino fishing vessel." The People's Liberation Army 's maritime militia, estimated to field 300 vessels and 4000 personnel, is made up of civilian fishermen who receive military training and pay. Their boats are equipped with reinforced hulls for ramming other vessels, high-powered water hoses, and sophisticated communications gear. After days of silence, President Rodrigo Duterte made a statement on 17 June 2019 about the incident, stating that this was a "maritime incident." For his part, F/B Gem-Ver captain Jonel Insigne declined to meet with the Philippine President; Insigne was described as "still too traumatized" by the incident to travel to the nation's capital. Duterte later stated that he was allowing China to continue fishing in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone. This drew a disappointed reaction from the fishermen concerned, so much so that even the wife of the Gem-Ver'''s captain stated that she would welcome Duterte's impeachment. After the Chinese sent a letter of apology for the incident to the Philippines in August 2019, Philippine Justice Antonio Carpio emphasized that the author was in error when he stated that the incident occurred in the "waters of Reed Bank, Nansha Island Group." Nansha is the Chinese name for the Spratly Islands. Reed Bank is an entirely separate feature from any island in the Spratlys. United States The United States Embassy in Manila stated on 14 June 2019, urging "all parties to refrain from using coercion and intimidation to assert their territorial and maritime claims." Vietnam Vietnam released a statement on 20 June 2019, saying that its fishermen complied with international maritime laws when they rescued the distressed crew of the Filipino fishing boat. Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang cited the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the convention of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and that Vietnam's vessels were discharging international obligations while operating at sea. See also Philippines v. China Scarborough Shoal standoff References 2019 in the Philippines 2019 controversies China–Philippines relations Reed Bank incident Fishing conflicts Maritime incidents in the Philippines Duterte administration controversies