Commentary
By Perry Diaz
By Perry Diaz
Pres. Aquino and his political adviser Ronald Llamas (File Photo)
Not satisfied with U.S. Ambassador Harry Thomas’ formal apology for the Tubbataha incident, President Benigno “P-Noy” Aquino III said that an apology was not enough; he wants a “thorough investigation to ascertain how the USS Guardian ran aground off Tubbataha Reef.” He made his statement while attending the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, which is hardly the place to raise the Tubbataha incident… unless he finds the WEF as a convenient pulpit to embarrass the United States.
The United States Navy already made its commitment to do everything it can to repair the damage caused by the accidental grounding of the minesweeper USS Guardian. Yet P-Noy questioned, “How it could happen when the minesweeper, a U.S. made vessel, was supposed to be possessing of high technology military navigation devices?”
Vice Admiral Scott Swift, commander of the U.S. 7th Fleet, had previously explained that the USS Guardian ran aground due to strong waves, which dislodged the vessel from its original position, thus causing it to make a 90-degree turn. The United States Pacific Command (USPACOM) also blamed the accident due to “wrong map navigational data” that was being followed by the minesweeper.
The U.S. Navy has already dispatched five support vessels to salvage the grounded minesweeper. In regard to the damage done, the Tubbataha Protected Area Management Board (TPAMB) has fined the U.S. Navy for “unauthorized entry.” But it did not disclose the amount of the penalty. Philippine law prescribes a “maximum penalty of up to a year in prison plus a fine of up to P300,000 ($7,300) for unauthorized entry.” However, TPAMB did not include the jail option in the penalty.
So, what’s P-Noy trying to accomplish in raising the Tubbataha Reef issue at the Davos forum? If an apology, salvage operation, repairing the damage, and penalty are not enough, what does he want out of this incident? Or he just wanted to make the U.S. look bad to satisfy the left? It seems like it.
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Noy: Apology not enough for Tubbataha incident
By Paul Atienza
The Daily Tribune
The Daily Tribune
President Aquino asserted for a thorough investigation to ascertain how a US Navy minesweeper Guardian ran aground off Tubbataha Reef, a World Heritage site in the Sulu sea on Jan. 17 as he said that an apology from the United State es not enough for the incident.
Aquino, for the first time, made his statement since day one on the Tubbataha incident while in Davos, Switzerland.
The president Aquino questioned how it could happen when the minesweeper, a U.S. made vessel, was supposed to be possessing of high technology military navigation devices.
The president Aquino questioned how it could happen when the minesweeper, a U.S. made vessel, was supposed to be possessing of high technology military navigation devices.
A US–based Military Times reported that “a digital chart used by the minesweeper Guardian to navigate Philippine waters misplaced the location of a reef by about eight nautical miles, and may have been a significant factor when the ship drove hard aground on the reef on Jan. 17.
As of Jan. 18, Navy ships have been directed to “operate with caution” when using similar electronic charts and compare the map data with paper charts, which are considered accurate.
The Digital Nautical Charts (DNC) used by the Guardian and most Navy ships are produced by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), a largely secret organization headquartered in Springfield,Va.
The DNC charts come in several versions. “General” and “coastal” versions are used in open areas such as the Sulu Sea, and “approach” and “harbor” versions are used for operating in and around harbors.
According to an NGA memo sent to the Navy on Jan. 18, the error was in the coastal DNC, apparently in use on board the Guardian at the time of the grounding.
The general DNC and hardcopy charts show the reef’s location correctly, NGA said.
On Feb. 5, 2009, a USS Port Royal, a United States Navy guided missile cruiser, ran aground on a coral reef off Oahu, Hawaii. The damage caused to a sensitive coral environment.
A United States Navy investigation found that the grounding was caused by a combination of a misread navigation system, a “sleep-deprived” commanding officer, broken equipment, and an inexperienced and dysfunctional bridge team.
The ships commanding officer, John Carroll, was relieved of duty and disciplined. The United States reattached 5,400 coral colonies in an attempt to repair damage to the reef.
In February 2011, the Navy and the state of Hawaii announced that they had reached a settlement on the damage caused by the grounding. The Navy agreed to pay Hawaii $8.5 million.
The amount was in addition to the $6.5 million already spent by the Navy in efforts to repair the reef.
“This settlement agreement recognizes the State of Hawaii’s loss of a natural resource and takes into account the U.S. Navy’s unprecedented efforts to restore the reef where USS Port Royal ran aground,” said Rear Admiral Timothy Giardina, U.S. Pacific Fleet deputy commander.
In response, William J. Aila, State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources interim chairperson, stated, “We believe the Navy has done the right thing by acknowledging its responsibility, working cooperatively with the state to restore the reef, and completing a settlement that will provide funding for protection of the state’s marine resources.”
Aquino maintained that the Philippine laws are clear as well as its regulations on the internal waters.
Aquino maintained that the Philippine laws are clear as well as its regulations on the internal waters.
Initial reports from the Philippine Coast Guard confirmed that the USS Guardian has damaged “more or less 1,000 square meters” of the Tubbataha Reefs in the Sulu Sea.
“Our laws are very specific, and when they got the diplomatic clearance to pass through our waters, this is a recognized—internationally recognized zone that is an exclusive zone,” Aquino said.
Under the Philippine enironmental laws, any violation on the provisions to navigate on the internal waters, more so on a national heritage, has provided specific penalties.
“They violated it, there are penalties. Then they will have to address all of these violations of our pertinent laws,” Aquino said.
In his reaction on the statement of Harry Thomas, US ambassador to Manila, Aquino expressed his discontent that an apology would not be enough.
The President said any review or intention to scrap the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) to halt the military exercises by the US soldiers in the country would not be necessary.
He said the Tubbataha incident was ecological and not military related activities.
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U.S. Envoy Apologizes for Ship’s Grounding on Philippine Coral Reef
By FLOYD WHALEY
The New York Times
The New York Times
The Guardian, a Navy minesweeper, hit the Tubbataha Reef about 80 miles east of the Philippine island of Palawan on Jan. 17. (Philippine Western Command, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images)
MANILA — The United States ambassador to the Philippines apologized Friday for the grounding of an American naval ship on a reef in a marine sanctuary, the latest in a string of embarrassing episodes for the United States military in the country at a time when the administration is pushing a “pivot” to Asia and the American military has increased its presence in the Philippines.
“I wish to convey to the Philippine government and people my profound regret over the grounding of the U.S.S. Guardian on Tubbataha Reef,” the American ambassador, Harry K. Thomas Jr., said in a statement issued Friday about the Jan. 17 accident that left the ship listing in the water.
The area struck by the minesweeper is a Unesco World Heritage site, and is described by the organization as “a pristine coral reef” that is home to more than 350 species of coral and almost 500 types of fish.
“This is the collateral damage from the U.S. military presence in our country,” said Bobby Tuazon, the director of policy studies at the Center for People Empowerment in Governance, based in Manila. “What were they doing there in the first place? This is a World Heritage site.”
The minesweeper crashed into the reef after a refueling stop at Subic Bay and as it was on its way to Indonesia, according to the Navy. The Navy has said the ship was using digital navigation charts that turned out to be faulty, according to a preliminary review, though an investigation into the cause of the accident is continuing.
The minesweeper will have to be lifted out, according to the Navy. A ship that will help extract the vessel is on its way, but the minesweeper is likely to be grounded for at least another week.
Opinion in the country on the increased military presence, which includes port visits by naval ships, is split. President Benigno S. Aquino III has welcomed it as a counterbalance to what is viewed by many Filipinos as aggressive actions by China in the South China Sea. The Philippines and China have multiple overlapping territorial claims in the area and the two countries have engaged in tense maritime standoffs while asserting their sovereignty over contested areas.
But others Filipinos remain wary more than 20 years after the shuttering of the Subic Bay Naval Station, a casualty of the sense among some that the base was a painful reminder of decades of American rule.
The Philippine government wants to fine the Navy for damages.
The recent grounding of the naval ship was preceded by other events that have led to renewed criticism of the United States military presence here. On Jan. 6, fishermen in the Philippines recovered an unmanned American drone that had been lost after it was used during American military exercises near the Pacific island of Guam.
Residents on the island of Masbate were initially alarmed by the discovery, fearing that it was an armed drone similar to those used in Afghanistan. But American and Philippine officials quickly clarified that it was an unarmed drone used as an aerial target.
The Philippine Senate is also investigating accusations that an American government contractor dumped about 50,000 gallons of untreated domestic waste from a Navy ship near Subic Bay after joint exercises in October. The contractor has denied the allegations. The former American naval facility, which is frequently visited by American ships, is also a popular Filipino tourist destination for beachgoers.
In the latest episode, the United States Navy minesweeper hit the Tubbataha Reef about 80 miles east of the Philippine island of Palawan, according to a Navy statement.
The full extent of the damage done to the reef by the 224-footship cannot be determined until the vessel is removed, but aerial photos taken by the Philippine military indicate that ship has put a gash in the reef measuring more than half the ship’s length.
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