Noy orders pullout of ships from shoal

Manila, Philippines -  President Aquino ordered two Philippine ships to pull out of Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal due to bad weather Friday night.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said yesterday the President ordered a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ship and a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessel to return to port.

“When weather improves, a re-evaluation will be made,” Del Rosario said.

The announcement was made as typhoon “Butchoy” gained strength.

 Philippine ships have been facing off with Chinese vessels since April 10, when Chinese maritime surveillance ships barred the Philippine Navy from arresting Chinese fishermen who had engaged in illegal fishing and harvesting of endangered marine species in the area.

The Philippines had protested the Chinese vessels’ action but China has insisted that it has sovereignty over the area.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said China pulled out two of its maritime vessels while a BFAR vessel also left the area last June 5.

But about 20 Chinese fishing vessels remain in the area. Eight Chinese maritime vessels were seen outside the shoal’s lagoon.

What pullout?

However, an officer of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) who declined to be named said he was not aware of any directive for the ships to leave the area.

“As far as I know, the PCG ship would just be moving around the area but not leave the Panatag Shoal,” the officer said.

The officer said the winds and gustiness spawned by Butchoy affect the disputed area.

“The ship cannot stay anchored because of the rough seas in the area. If they would continue to stay, its anchor’s chain might break. Also, if they would not move around the crew on board might become seasick,” he added.

The vessels cannot move close to the shoal since the vessel might run aground, the officer said.

Defense spokesman Peter Paul Galvez said it is common practice for ships to seek shelter during inclement weather.

Galvez added that the President had the safety of government personnel manning the vessels in mind in ordering the pullout.

However, at least two security officials expressed concern that the pullout of Philippine ships will give undue advantage to China.

“Our deployed vessels can always seek cover inside the lagoon, just as our local fishermen usually do when they are caught in the middle the storm,” an official, who asked not to be named, said.

“If that is our attitude in Panatag, then we are seeing a new Panganiban Reef in that particular area,” another official added.

The official said China had fortified Panganiban Reef, which is less than a hundred nautical miles from Palawan, complete with satellite discs.

The two officials, however, said they bow to the President’s decision.

“The President knows what he is doing. He knows for sure what the Chinese will be doing when our ships are no longer around to watch over them,” one official said.

Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos, Armed Forces spokesman, said they will continue to coordinate with the PCG with regard the security developments in Panatag despite the pullout.

As this developed, Malacañang said it is leaving it up to the DFA and the Department of National Defense to deal with new incidents of harassment of Philippine vessels by Chinese ships in the disputed area.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte told state-run radio station dzRB the DFA will raise the issue with their Chinese counterparts.

“That’s what we’re waiting for,” Valte added after a radio anchor cited Del Rosario’s statement about China’s intention to pull out its ships.

Del Rosario said Friday Manila is waiting for Beijing to meet its commitment to remove about 20 vessels within the shoal’s lagoon after the only Philippine ship there left this week.

ABS-CBN reported that Chinese Maritime Surveillance ship 71 had chased MCS-3008, a ship owned by BFAR, outside the shoal.

The Philippine ships reportedly managed to get away from another Chinese vessel but eventually faced off with four more Chinese ships guarding the shoal’s entrance.

The alleged harassment of Philippine vessels by Chinese ships happened on May 26.

The ABS-CBN report said the Philippine vessels had passed through eight Chinese vessels before entering the shoal.

The report also quoted an unnamed source as saying that a Chinese helicopter flew over a Philippine vessel twice the following day.

The military, for its part, kept mum on the alleged bullying by Chinese ships.

“We will continue to monitor the developments in Panatag Shoal and maintain coordination with the Coast Guard in enforcing maritime laws in the area,” Armed Forces spokesman Col. Arnulfo Burgos Jr. told The STAR last Friday.

Panatag Shoal is located 124 nautical miles from the nearest base point in Zambales.

It is within the Philippines’ 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone as provided by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to which China is a signatory.

Philippine officials said they continue to support peaceful means to resolve the standoff despite incidents of bullying by Chinese ships. With Alexis Romero, Evelyn Macairan, Jaime Laude,