MANILA -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has broken his silence over the sinking of a Philippine fishing boat by a Chinese vessel, saying the June 9 collision in the South China Sea was just a "a little maritime accident."
Duterte had been under fire for not speaking up about the incident off Reed Bank in what Manila calls the West Philippine Sea. The Chinese sailors abandoned the 22 Filipinos on the sunken vessel, who said they were rescued by Vietnamese fishermen.
