MANILA, Philippines—The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said
Monday they are closely coordinating with neighboring countries and
international organizations to gather information about North Korea’s
planned missile launch.
“We are continuously networking and liaising, [in the] sharing of
information with concerned international bodies as to the [flight] path
[of the rocket] and other essential information that we can obtain
pertaining to the planned rocket launch of North Korea,” Colonel Arnulfo
Marcelo Burgos Jr, AFP spokesperson said in a press briefing.
He said the AFP’s defense attache to South Korea was already
consulting and coordinating with counterparts from South Korea, the
United States (US) and other countries.
North Korea had said that the rocket will be launched to put a
satellite into orbit. The rocket will have two stages that will jettison
from the main rocket, the first is expected to fall into the
international waters between China and South Korea and the second stage
is expected to splash down 190 kilometers east of northern Philippines.
Japan and South Korea have warned that they will shoot down the
rocket if it threatens their territories, while the US and the United
Nations warned that the launch could jeopardize the humanitarian food
aid being delivered to the country.
“Our paramount concern is the safety and security of our citizens in
this country, we need to get accurate information where the [splash down
of the second stage] area will be, which area will be affected, what
the flight path will be, our course of action will depend on all of
this,” Burgos said.
A jettisoned rocket stage is known to disintegrate as it burns while
falling through the atmosphere but Burgos said that “it’s better to be
prepared, security is the paramount concern of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Matikas Santos | INQUIRER.net | March 26, 2012 | Article Link