DND: Gov’t permitted US ship to enter Phl

MANILA, Philippines - The presence of the United States Navy’s minesweeper USS Guardian in the country is legal and allowed by both the Department of National Defense (DND) and the Department of Foreign Affairs.

DND spokesperson Peter Paul Galvez said in a radio interview on Monday that the ship currently aground off Sulu Sea’s Tubbataha Reef has permission to enter the coastal region, but why it got stuck will be further investigated by the agency.

“That is what we are trying to learn and we are still waiting for reports on why (the ship) reached the area,” Galvez said in Filipino.

The US Navy Pacific Fleet earlier said the crew of the vessel reportedly used erroneous nautical data that caused it to skid among the country’s most important marine sanctuaries.

The damages of the wreckage on the reef initially reported to be at least 10 meters in length may even worsen while the ship remains in place, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said.

The DENR’s Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau Director Theresa Lim said on Monday that ruined parts of the reef are expected to widen as winds and waves continue to shake the vessel, which has been stranded since January 17.

“Our assumption is that the length of the ship or the area which skidded (in the reef) is damaged … but upon seeing the last few days’ weather conditions, the ship has been moving because the waves push against it,” Lim said.

She added that marine park rangers had already been assigned to monitor the reef, considered to be a national marine park.

Lim also said that the agency hopes the vessel can be extracted from the coral ridge immediately.

Militant groups led by Bayan, meanwhile, protested before the US Embassy in Manila against the stranded ship and condemned Americans’ alleged abuse of the country’s natural resources.

Bayan Southern Tagalog Secretary General Erica Chiong told reporters that the US, besides dumping toxic substances off Subic Bay in 2012, had been bringing their nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers into the country.

Chiong added that junking the Visiting Forces Agreement between the country and the US will protect Philippine coasts.