DND defends Ayungin ship repairs

The Department of National Defense (DND) on Thursday defended the repairs being made on the BRP Sierra Madre, saying the patches do not violate the diplomatic track to resolve the ongoing territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea.

Arsenio Andolong, chief of the DND’s public affairs service, said the repairs are only minor and that the Philippine Navy can conduct repairs on its own on the ship, being a commissioned Philippine naval vessel.

The BRP Sierra Madre was placed in Ayungin Shoal in 1999 to serve as a permanent Philippine government installation in response to China’s illegal occupation of Mischief Reef (Panganiban Reef) in 1995.

“Considering that it’s a vessel commissioned by the Navy, it is well within its right to conduct simple repairs. It’s like repairing one’s house,” Andolong said.

China earlier slammed the Philippines as a “troublemaker” after the Philippine Navy made minor repairs on the ship.

While the Ayungin Shoal is inside the country’s 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone, China is claiming it consistent with its nine-dash-line claim.

Moral obligation

Lt. Col. Noel Detoyato, the new public affairs office chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, maintained that the repairs were meant to improve the living conditions of the troops living in the rusting ship.

“It’s very minor… to show the moral obligation of the Philippine Navy to take care of its personnel,” he said.

DND spokesperson Peter Paul Galvez said the more than 100 million Filipinos will not believe China’s claims that the Philippines is the troublemaker in the ongoing territorial dispute.

He said the Chinese government is “confused” because of the “incessant twisting of the truth and in its efforts misleading the good Chinese people.”

“They should listen to their peace loving Chinese constituents who are calling for a stop to this bullying, which they all know is a diversion from their domestic issues,” he said.

Andolong said it is China which is not abiding by the Declaration of Conduct of the Southeast Asian nations laying claim on the disputed territory.