‘Not a spy plane but a weather device’

DAVAO CITY — It was not a spy plane but a pilotless weather observation device.

"There is no cause for alarm over it...(There’s) nothing serious about it," said Indonesian Vice Consul Johannes O.S. Manginsela of reports that a spy plane crashed in waters between Indonesia’s North Sulawesi province and Mindanao.

The incident fueled speculations that the plane was being used to monitor the movement of American troops taking part in joint military exercises on Basilan island.

Manginsela, however, told The STAR that "necessary investigations are going on."

Vice President and Foreign Affairs Secretary Teofisto Guingona said he also wants the incident investigated.

Manginsela said the pilotless device, identified as an Australian-made Aerosonde model, actually had a limited flying time of 30 minutes to two hours.

He said its wreckage was found in the waters off Sangihe Island, the nearest point between Indonesia and the Philippines. — With Aurea Calica