Investigators from Taiwan left the Philippines on Saturday, saying Manila's government was not willing to conduct a joint probe into the shooting death of a Taiwanese fisherman on May 9 by the Philippine Coast Guard in disputed waters. Chen Wen-chi, director of Taiwan's Department of International and Cross-Strait Legal Affairs, told a news briefing at the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office in Manila that "the Philippine government has tried to prolong and delay our requests for a joint investigation."

Philippine President Benigno Aquino apologised Wednesday for the killing by his country's coastguard of a Taiwanese fisherman, and appealed for calm amid deepening outrage in Taiwan. Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said Aquino had sent the chairman of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office, which handles relations with Taiwan, to the island to make the apology.

The United States Monday voiced regret over the death of a Taiwanese fisherman killed when the Philippine coast guard fired on his vessel, but stopped short of condemning the incident. "We regret the tragic death of a Taiwan fishing boat master during a May 9 confrontation at sea with a Philippine patrol vessel," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters.

Taiwan's exports in April fell 1.9 percent from a year ago to $25.1 billion on weak demand from Europe and mainland China, the government said Tuesday. Shipments to debt-ridden Europe saw a sharp decline of 19.3 percent on year to $2.26 billion while sales to mainland China, Taiwan's biggest export market, fell 2.90 percent to $6.6 billion. Hit hardest was the sale of information technology items and telecom products, which dropped 12 percent year on year to $1.31 billion, with sales of cellphones plummeting $220 million, or 28.8 percent from a year ago.