Chinese tugboat seen near BRP Sierra Madre; PH Navy dismisses towing

MANILA, Philippines, August 27 ------ A Chinese tugboat was spotted near the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, but a Philippine Navy official downplayed fears that the grounded naval outpost might be towed away.

Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, said the People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) tugboat was sighted on Monday five nautical miles south of BRP Sierra Madre (LS-57). Trinidad dismissed the possibility that the deployment of a tugboat indicates that China is now moving towards towing the World War II-era warship. “It will take more than a tugboat to tow BRP Sierra Madre,” Trinidad said in a regular AFP press briefing.

He said the BRP Sierra Madre is “strongly anchored” to the corals off the shoal. “Our assessment is that this is more for their own use in the event that they would need a tugboat to pull out any of their ships that would run aground in the shallow portion of Ayungin Shoal,” Trinidad said. Trinidad said that Navy troops will not allow the Chinese Navy to do such a thing, saying there are contingency measures under their rules of engagement in anticipation of such moves against the warship that was deliberately aground there since 1999. Trinidad also said that the morale of troops in the BRP Sierra Madre remains high. “Our men have been aboard the BRP Sierra Madre for a quarter of a century, for 26 years now,” he said. “They are used to it. The men there are veterans of the Mindanao campaign; they are used to hard life. he added.

Source: inquirer.net