PN, PCG step up patrol off Tubbataha Reef

From the Philippine News Agency (Jun 11): PN, PCG step up patrol off Tubbataha Reef

In wake of the Vietnamese intrusion off Tubbataha Reef Friday night, the Philippine Coast Guard and Navy have beefed up their patrols in the marine sanctuary in a bid to prevent a similar incident.

Coast Guard Palawan district head Commodore Enrico Evangelista said park rangers have also been on heightened alert status.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines' Western Command earlier announced that its naval component has already dispatched a patrol vessel to look into the alleged Vietnamese incursion.

1st Lt. Cheryl Tindog, Western Command spokesperson, said that Vietnamese craft, around 50 to 60 tons, was spotted off 3.4 nautical miles of North Atoll, Tubbataha Reef by 9 to 10 p.m. last June 7.

She added the Vietnamese fishing vessel was even said to be flying a Philippine flag when spotted by the Tubbataha Park Ranger Station radar east of North Atoll.

And when park rangers tried to approach the foreign vessel, the latter sped off prompting Philippine authorities to chase it.

"Our park rangers gave chase... up to two nautical miles," Tindog stressed, adding that some of the pursuing rangers are Navy personnel.

She also clarified that the vessel that gave chase to the Vietnamese ship was a park boat of the Tubbataha Reef Marine Park.

Tindog added that Naval Forces West was informed of the presence of the foreign vessel in the area and the latter reacted by deploying a patrol craft immediately.

Friday's incident was the third time this year that a foreign vessel has entered the Tubbataha Reef Marine Park.

In January, the U.S. minesweeper USS Guardian ran aground the Tubbataha Reef, which has been declared by the UNESCO as a world heritage site. The U.S. vessel remained stuck in the reef for more than two months before it was eventually removed March 30.

Just days after the U.S. warship was removed from the reef, a Chinese fishing vessel also ran aground at the marine sanctuary.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=533129