PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Philippines—A Philippine Air Force plane
spotted Saturday afternoon the Chinese war frigate that ran aground on a
coral reef at Half Moon Shoal in the Spratlys.
A report made by the pilot of the PAF Islander plane, the distressed
ship was being rescued by around five Chinese vessels, according to a
source at the AFP Western Command.
A Philippine Navy vessel was closing in on the area and ready to
provide assistance but was staying at a safe distance while awaiting
orders from the AFP, added the source.
Regional military spokesman Colonel Neil Anthony Estrella confirmed
the presence of the stranded Chinese naval frigate in the disputed
waters.
“During the aerial reconnaissance mission, they were able to confirm,
based on photographs, that there is indeed a ship with bow number 560
aground at Half Moon Shoal,” he told Agence France-Presse.
He said five more vessels and a number of smaller boats were assisting the grounded ship.
A navy ship and a coast guard vessel had been dispatched to the area to monitor the Chinese operations, he added.
He stressed that the shoal was just 60 nautical miles from the
western Philippine island of Palawan, well within the country’s
200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone, as recognized by
international law.
Estrella said they were awaiting further orders from Malacañang “but
already in a position to extend assistance to the Chinese frigate.”
Foreign Department spokesman Raul Hernandez said in a statement, “we
need to find out what really happened with the Chinese frigate in our
territory”.
He reiterated that the Philippines would provide assistance to move the ship if China requested it.
The Chinese government earlier confirmed that the ship was on
“routine patrol” when it became stranded near Half Moon Shoal in the
Spratly Islands on Wednesday evening.
The stranding highlights the territorial conflicts between the two
countries which marred the ASEAN Regional Forum in Cambodia this week.
At the forum, the Philippines’ foreign minister denounced Chinese
“duplicity” and “intimidation” in the South China Sea and conflicting
positions on the issue prevented the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations from issuing its customary joint statement.
The Philippines and China have been in a standoff since Chinese ships
blocked the Philippine navy from arresting Chinese fishermen at the
disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea in April.
The Philippines says the shoal is also within
its EEZ but China claims the entire South China Sea as its historical
territory, even up to the coasts of other Southeast Asian countries.
The
sea is believed to sit atop vast oil and gas deposits.
In Manila, a group of Filipino-Americans on
Saturday called for a boycott of Chinese products and a day of prayer to
rally support against China’s actions.
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July 14, 2012| Article Link
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