Navy on standby for Spratlys deployment

MANILA, Philippines - The military is ready to assist the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in enforcing the country's maritime laws, but will only do so if ordered by higher authorities.

Armed Forces spokesman Col. Arnulfo Burgos Jr. stressed Tuesday that the PCG is the agency tasked to ensure that the country’s laws are being followed.

“The maritime laws there (in the West Philippine Sea) are being enforced by the Philippine Coast Guard and whenever told to do so, we will be in the area,” Burgos said in a press briefing.

“But as far as our constitutional mandate to protect the people and the state, we will continue to do that,” he added.

Burgos was asked to react to reports that China has sent a big fleet of fishing vessels at the disputed Spratly Islands.

Burgos said they would only comply with the directives issued to them by higher authorities.

“We are implementers. We just execute whatever order is handed down to us,” Burgos said.

“Coordination between the Philippine Coast Guard and the Armed Forces of the Philippines is very critical,” he added.

On Sunday, a huge fleet of Chinese fishing vessels arrived at the contested parts of the West Philippine Sea, in what observers view as an effort to assert Beijing’s claim over the area.

China’s state-owned news agency Xinhua said the fleet of 30 fishing vessels from Hainan province arrived near Yongshu Reef on Monday afternoon.

The fleet reportedly includes a 3,000 ton supply ship and a patrol vessel and is said to be the largest ever launched from the province.

The fishing expedition in the area will last for five to 10 days, reports said.

The arrival of the fishing fleet in the Spratlys came on the same day a Chinese warship that ran aground on a shoal off Palawan was successfully refloated after being assisted by vessels sent by Beijing.

The grounded ship - a Jianghu-class, Chinese guided-missile frigate – was removed from the Hasa Hasa (Half Moon) Shoal on Sunday and left the area on the same day.

Hasa Hasa Shoal, where the Chinese warship got stuck, is located about 60 nautical miles off Rizal town in Palawan.

The warship got stuck on the shoal last July 11 while conducting a routine patrol.

The Philippine media knew about the incident through a report released by Australian paper Sydney Morning Herald last Friday.

Philippine officials did not inform the public about the incident before the Sydney Morning Herald report was published.

The warship reportedly pinned itself to a reef at Hasa Hasa Shoal, on the southeastern edge of the hotly-contested Spratlys Islands.

The ship got stuck within the Philippines’ 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone, as determined by exclusive economic zone as provided by international law. – Alexis Romero