PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Philippines -- Four Vietnamese have been arrested by law enforcers in the municipal waters of El Nido in northern Palawan for alleged illegal entry and poaching in Philippine waters, Mayor Leonor Corral said Monday.

Corral told the Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net) on Monday that the Vietnamese were in one of five boats chased by a combined team from the Philippine Navy, Coast Guard and Philippine National Police near the island of Guntao Sunday afternoon.

The four other boats managed to escape, said Corral.

"We gave chase and caught one of them. They had no passports and were evidently poaching in Philippine territory," Corral said.

Corral said none of the Vietnamese spoke English, and that they have been communicating in sign language. The four were being prepared for transfer to Puerto Princesa City for the filing of charges against them.

Confiscated from the Vietnamese were a compressor used for diving, and a still undetermined amount of fish.

There have been several arrests of foreign fishermen, mostly Chinese and Vietnamese, poaching in Philippine waters.

The latest was the arrest of 30 Chinese caught poaching in Tubattaha Reef in December 2006. They were, however, released on bail by a local judge, months later.