MANILA, Philippines -- US Ambassador Harry Thomas Jr. again conveyed his country’s apologies for the “unfortunate” grounding of a Navy minesweeper on Tubbatah Reef but still offered no explanation for why the USS Guardian was in the marine protected area.
“On behalf of the United States government, I wish to convey to the Philippine government and people my profound regret over the grounding of the USS Guardian on Tubbataha Reef,” Thomas said in a statement on Friday.
“This was an unfortunate accident, and I recognize the legitimate concerns over the damage caused to a unique and precious wonder of nature, internationally recognized for its beauty and biological diversity,” he said.
The Guardian was sailing from Subic Bay to Indonesia, where it was to participate in an exercise, when it ran into the reef, which has been declared a world heritage site, on January 17.
Authorities estimate that the incident has damaged at least 1,000 square meters of corals.
The US Navy earlier said it has decided to lift the vessel off the reef rather than tow or dismantle it to prevent more damage to the corals. Two cranes from Singapore are expected to arrive in the area by the end of the month.
The incident has caused widespread anger, especially after the office managing Tubbataha disclosed that the Guardian’s captain ignored warnings that the ship was heading into the protected area and the ship’s crew went into battle mode and prevented marine park rangers from approaching.
“As the investigation of this matter proceeds, we hope to continue our close coordination with the Philippine government to understand precisely what happened so we can ensure there will be no recurrence,” Thomas said, adding that the US would “work collaboratively with the Philippines to assess the damage and to take steps to address the environmental issues that have arisen from this incident.”
He thanked the Philippine Coast Guard and Navy “for their close cooperation with us.” (with Abigail Kwok, InterAksyon.com)
source: interaksyon.com
