US not exempt from laws- Aquino
PHILIPPINES: Philippine President Benigno Aquino haswelcomed the US
Navy's apology for a minesweeper that went aground on a World
Heritage-listed coral reef, but said they would not be exempt from
penalties.
The priority was to remove the damaged USS Guardian from Tubbataha
Reef even as an investigation was under way to determine why it strayed
into the area, Aquino told reporters in Davos, Switzerland, according to
transcripts released Sunday.
“We'd like to thank them for respecting our sovereignty and are very
careful about our sensitivities,” Aquino said of the apology last week
by the US embassy and the US Navy. “But that doesn't exempt them from
having to comply with our laws,” he said.
The 68-metre (224 foot) vessel has been stuck since January 17. Its
hull has been punctured and is now flooded.
The US Navy last week raced to remove some 57,000 litres (15,000 US
gallons) of fuel from the ship, while awaiting the arrival of two bigger
crane ships to pluck the Guardian from the reef.
The incident has caused anger in the Philippines, a former American
colony and ally in the Asia-Pacific.
While both the embassy and the head of the US Navy's Pacific fleet
have apologised for the incident, they have not yet explained the exact
cause.
The head of the marine park supervising Tubbataha has said the ship
ignored warnings that it was entering a protected marine sanctuary.
The government last week said it was seeking heavy fines for the
coral damage, but Aquino said penalties would have to be assessed after
the vessel is salvaged.
About 1,000 square metres (3,280 square feet) of coral has been
impacted, or about less than one percent of the entire marine park.
Tubbataha is a UNESCO World Heritage site in a remote part of the
Sulu Sea famous for its rich marine life and coral that rival
Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
Under Philippine law, the sanctuary is off-limits to ships except for
research or tourism vessels approved by the government.
“They violated it, there are penalties,” Aquino stressed.
AFP |