Palace gags Navy over ship deployment to shoal

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang practically gagged the Philippine Navy yesterday concerning the redeployment of vessels to Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, saying it is leaving it up to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to issue statements.

When asked if China was acting in bad faith for deploying its vessels to the shoal while negotiations are ongoing, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said, “We will defer to the DFA.”

Lacierda added it would be up to the DFA to determine whether a diplomatic protest should be filed against China.

“The DFA issued a press release yesterday or at least a text to us that informed us that the Chinese ships are back in Panatag. So we will just leave it with the DFA to make the statements… As our policy, we do not want to escalate any tensions so we would leave it with the DFA to issue the statements,” Lacierda said.

“As a policy, we continue to defer to the DFA. The DFA receives operational reports also from the Coast Guard. They are informed. They are also informed of any flights undertaken by the Philippine Navy,” he added.

With regard the redeployment of ships to Panatag Shoal, Lacierda said there would be a reevaluation.

“I am not in the know right now as to whether there has been a reevaluation and hence that’s the reason why we are waiting for the statement from the DFA,” he said.

But Lacierda said there had been no softening on the stand to assert sovereignty over Panatag Shoal, except that some factors have to be considered.

“We maintain our position. The reason for withdrawing the vessels as mentioned by the secretary of Foreign Affairs (Albert del Rosario) is primarily the weather. Now, that is subject to reevaluation and we are going to ask the secretary of Foreign Affairs or the DFA whether a reevaluation has been made and it will be done in consultation with (Del Rosario) and the President,” Lacierda said.

He said the weather was a big concern, citing the sea mishap off the coast of Bolinao, Pangasinan that left a fisherman dead and four others missing.

Lacierda also denied inconsistencies in the statements of the Navy and the DFA as regards the presence of Chinese vessels in the area.

He said it was just a matter of timeline, noting that the DFA had echoed the Navy’s pronouncement that the Chinese vessels left the lagoon itself but had apparently returned and maintained presence in the parameters of the shoal.

Dialogue ongoing

Lacierda said discussions with the Chinese embassy are ongoing.

“We have always stated and we have always advocated dialogue between the countries… And that’s something that we are not giving up on,” he said.

“I have no specifics on the discussions but the thrust of the discussion is always on a peaceful resolution of the Panatag Shoal standoff,” he added.

Asked if the standoff would become protracted given China’s actuations, Lacierda said: “We cannot speak for the Chinese side. They have always been saying also in terms of… in their public pronouncements that they are for a peaceful resolution. We have also said the same thing. In fact, we’ve gone a step further. We have already stated that we wanted to deescalate the tensions in Panatag Shoal. As to the specifics, as to how they view their statements vis-à-vis their action, that’s something that is beyond our government to comment on. But certainly, as far as we are concerned, we would like to have an early resolution to this standoff.”

In a related development, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) yesterday said they would continue with their investigation into the ramming of a Filipino fishing boat off the coast of Bolinao reportedly by a Hong Kong-registered bulk carrier, which left one fisherman dead.

PCG spokesman Lieutenant Commander Armand Balilo yesterday said that they would pursue all angles in the maritime incident.

“We would start with M/V Peach Mountain as vessel of interest. We would continue with what we have. If it’s not the vessel we are looking for, there is no problem,” said Balilo.

Balilo said they would initially focus on the Peach Mountain, citing an eyewitness account that “Hong Kong” was written on the ship and its nearness to the place of incident.

“Of course, we would not discount the possibility that there were other vessels involved,” he added.

He also cited the statement of the surviving fishermen that the vessel was blue and maroon, which matched the color of the cargo ship.

Balilo said they would likewise be validating with the Japan Coast Guard the vessels that passed through the area last June 20 when the sea mishap occurred.

“This would really be a difficult investigation but we would do our best and that is why we have to coordinate with the Japan Coast Guard and other counterparts to provide information and shed light on the investigation. The Navy, of course, could make their own investigation. We would do it based on our mandate on the enforcement side of maritime safety,” he said.

He said the PCG is also willing to coordinate with the Navy.

Meanwhile, the PCG said search and rescue operations for the four missing fishermen continue.

Balilo said a PCG helicopter conducted an aerial surveillance yesterday. – With Evelyn Macairan