( CNN ) -- May has been a bad month for relations between Taiwan and the Philippines . Taiwan has reacted angrily after one of its fishermen was killed by a Philippine coast guard vessel last week . It has recalled its diplomatic envoy from Manila , frozen applications from Filipinos seeking to work in Taiwan and held naval drills near Philippine waters . The Philippine coast guard has said the crew of one of its ships fired at the Taiwanese fishing boat on May 9 after it tried to ram a Philippine boat . Manila insists that the shooting took place in waters inside its exclusive economic zone and that the loss of life was `` unintended . '' But Taiwan says the Philippine vessel sprayed the fishing boat with bullets in waters claimed by the exclusive economic zones of both countries . It says the 65-year-old fisherman , Hung Shih-cheng , was fatally shot in the back . The souring ties between the two countries are born out of the messy mix of competing territorial claims to parts of the South China Sea and nearby waters by Brunei , China , Malaysia , the Philippines , Taiwan and Vietnam . The areas in dispute include fertile fishing grounds and potentially rich reserves of undersea natural resources . President Ma Ying-jeou of Taiwan on Friday described last week 's shooting as a `` cold-blooded murder , '' the Taiwanese national news agency CNA reported . Ma has so far deemed the Philippine response to the killing to be unsatisfactory . His government has demanded that Manila make a formal apology , compensate the losses , investigate and punish those responsible , and start talks between the two countries on a fishing agreement . Among the series of measures Taiwan has imposed this week to show its displeasure is a travel alert urging its citizens not to visit to the Philippines . The Philippine government , meanwhile , has started to show frustration with the Taiwanese stance . `` We did what a decent member , a respectable member of the international community should have done , '' Edwin Lacierda , a spokesman for President Benigno Aquino III , said Thursday . `` We have gone the extra mile . '' Aquino sent `` a personal representative to extend his apology '' and offer financial assistance to the family of the dead fisherman , Lacierda said , according to CNN affiliate ABS-CBN . Philippine authorities are investigating the shooting , he said . He warned that the measures imposed by the Taiwanese government would hurt the economies of both countries . Lacierda also appealed to the Taiwanese people not to hurt Filipinos living in Taiwan amid reports of harassment . But Garfie Li , a spokeswoman for Ma , said Lacierda 's comments about going the extra mile were `` were untrue and totally unacceptable , '' according to CNA . The United States , an ally of both the Philippines and Taiwan , has expressed regret '' over the fisherman 's death and urged the two sides `` to work together and to ensure maritime safety , and refrain from actions that could further escalate tensions . '' China has supported Taiwan , which it views as a breakaway province . `` We have repeatedly condemned the violent killing of the innocent fisherman since the incident happened , '' Yang Yi , a spokesman for the State Council 's Taiwan Affairs Office , said Wednesday , according to the state-run news agency Xinhua . `` We have demanded that the Philippine side take the case seriously , find out the truth as quickly as possible and punish those responsible . '' Beijing and Manila are already at odds over a different territorial dispute in the region that led to a maritime standoff last year .
A Taiwanese fisherman was killed by gunfire from a Philippine coast guard vessel last week . Taiwan 's president describes it as a `` cold-blooded murder '' and an act of piracy against the islands.