Solons to AFP: What’s a US warship doing in RP waters?

From the Daily Tribune (Jan 20): Solons to AFP: What’s a US warship doing in RP waters?

Senators Francis Escudero and Loren Legarda are demanding an explanation from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) why a United States Navy warship was in Philippine waters as President Aquino remains mum on the incident that is said to have damaged the country’s precious coral reefs.  Escudero said the US government should also be held liable for all the damage after the USS Guardian, a US Navy minesweeper, ran aground on Tubbataha Reef. “Did it have authorized access in the first place? Were we informed of its presence in our territory? Why can’t we have official word from concerned authorities about the official status of the ship in our waters?” Escudero, chairman of the Senate committee on environment and natural resources, said in a press statement yesterday.

Legarda, on the other hand, wants the Presidential Commission on the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to explain how the USS Guardian was allowed to venture into the Tubbataha Reef.  “The VFACOM is tasked to monitor, in coordination with appropriate government agencies and NGOs, the activities of foreign military and civilian personnel,” Legarda said. “What kind of coordination was carried out when officials on board the USS Guardian refused to respond to the radio calls made by Philippine authorities who were investigating their presence in our protected area?” Legarda asked.

Calling the incident a “very serious one,” Escudero said his committee may launch a probe to uncover possible violations of Philippine and international laws. The PCG stationed in Tubbataha Reef said it radioed in the Guardian’s unauthorized entry and that it caused damage to the reef. Escudero said even Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesman Raul Hernandez could not say if the warship’s entry was authorized or not. “The reef’s protection status has been severely violated, neglected. We are also looking at what other violations were incurred. We should demand not only for indemnity for damages but also for the restoration costs. Reefs are grown over centuries, the extent of the damage and what it will leave cannot be quantified in any amount,” Escudero said.

Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park is a 97,030-hectare Marine Protected Area in Palawan.
It is 150 kms southeast of Puerto Princesa City at the heart of the Coral Triangle, acknowledged as the global center of marine biodiversity. The Coral Triangle is home to at least 40 percent of the world’s fish and 75 percent of corals. Being in the center of the Coral Triangle, Tubbataha Reef plays a critical role in marine biodiversity preservation, Escudero said.

Reports say the USS Guardian ran aground in the South Atoll, one of the two atolls comprising the reef.  The warship has started to sink, and most of its 79-man crew have abandoned ship. “The US government is in no position right now to act like the Big One in this matter. Our territory, our rights were violated. Therefore, we must demand excellent care when they free the ship from the reef. They already ignored the protection status of the reef once, and here they are again,” Escudero said. He also called on authorities to fully supervise and monitor the immediate extraction of the ship from the area to ensure that no further physical damage will be done to the reef.

Legarda expressed concern over what she said was a “troubling pattern of environmental assault” that has resulted from the visits by United States naval ships in the country. Legarda, chair of the Senate committee on foreign relations, noted the failure by the US authorities to coordinate the movements and route of the USS Guardian while in Philippine waters. “Our Visiting Forces Agreement and other treaties with the United States government is not a free pass so US ships and military personnel can do as they wish in our country, including the destruction of the environment and protected sites in our country,” Legarda said.

Meanwhile, the youth group Anakbayan expressed its outrage over the continuing silence of President Aquino regarding the grounding of the US warship on the protected coral reef. Vencer Crisostomo, national chairperson of Anakbayan, noted that the only statement from Malacanang, which was issued by Palace spokesperson Abi Valte as of the other day, “conveniently skirts the issue of the U.S Navy’s arrogant behavior.”

“While claiming to be more concerned with the extent of the damage to the coral reef, the Palace omits any mention of how the US warship blatantly entered the protected area, ignored the Tubbataha Park officials contacting them, and then pointed their guns at the Park rangers sent to investigate the damage,” he said.

Crisostomo pointed out that only the officials of the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB) and the Tubbataha Management Office made any mention of the fact that the USS Guardian did not have any permit to enter the Park area, that they repeatedly contacted the ship’s captain to no avail, and that the warship’s crew went on ‘full battle alert’ when they were approached by Park rangers.

“Are the PAWB and Tubbataha Park officials the only ones concerned about the impunity with which US troops violated an important part of our national patrimony? Why has Noynoy kept silent two days after the incident?” said the youth leader.
“Is Noynoy still waiting for the ‘official line’ from the White House and the US State Department so that he can echo it, word for word?” the youth leader asked.

As this developed, the Philippine Navy yesterday announced its naval assets in Palawan are on stand-by to extend possible assistance to USS Guardian. Lt. Cmdr. Gregory Favic, acting PN spokesperson, said that BRP Rizal (PS-74) is now on station at the grounding area and on stand-by to provide what help it could to the stranded Americans. Another PN ship, BRP Mangyan (AS-71), is expected to reach the area later in the day. Favic added the USS Guardian is in no danger of foundering and spilling oil on the marine sanctuary. The acting PN spokesperson also stressed that US Navy personnel are now determining the best way to remove the minesweeper from the reef with the least damage to the environment.

The 68-meter (224-feet) Avenger-class mine counter-measure vessel which is part of the US 7th Fleet, is home ported in Sasebo, Japan. It just made a port call in the former US naval base in Subic Bay, Zambales and supposedly on its way to Persian Gulf to assist in reducing tension along the Strait of Hormuz when it hit a shallow portion of the Tubbataha Reef last Jan. 17.

Likewise, the PCG announced that its marine environmental protection vessel, the BRP Corregidor (AE-891), is now enroute to Tubbataha Reef to render whatever assistance to the stranded USS Guardian. Rear Admiral Rodolfo Isorena, PCG chief, said that BRP Corregidor is carrying rescuers and marine environmental protection personnel on board. Aside from the two rescue teams from the Coast Guard Special Operations Group and another two teams from the Marine Environmental Protection Command (MEPCOM), a medical team was also dispatched to check the condition of the distressed crew members. Isorena added that MEPCOM personnel also brought marine pollution extraction equipment such as oil spill boom, skimmer and oil dispersant chemicals to prevent any oil spill incident.

http://www.tribune.net.ph/index.php/headlines/item/9391-solons-to-afp-what’s-a-us-warship-doing-in-rp-waters?