End of an Illegal Maneuver

A U.S. Navy minesweeper that ran aground on an environmentally protected coral reef off the coast off the Philippines is being dismantled. The crew will be granted immunity from prosecution.

Just last year, the Tubbataha Atoll was praised for the exemplary protection of its richly diverse marine life. Today, the UNESCO World Heritage site looks more like a gigantic ocean construction site. On January 17, the U.S. Navy minesweeper USS Guardian made unauthorized entry into the atoll’s 130,000-hectare national park waters, where it promptly ran aground on a reef in the southernmost atoll.

Meanwhile, a sufficient number of floating cranes, salvage ships and barges have finally arrived on the scene to gut the warship, dismember it and carry away the pieces.

Experts hope that the complex operation will minimize further damage to the coral reef system. Early estimates say that 4,000 square meters of the reef have already been destroyed, but the total damage cannot be assessed until the rest of the ship has been entirely removed.

How the accident could happen in an age of satellite navigation and despite the radio warnings broadcast by the Tubbataha Rangers has yet to be explained. The excuses given thus far by the U.S. Navy leave something to be desired, namely that the navigation charts being used by the Guardian, that show the precise location of underwater hazards, contained errors.

Poor Navigation or Outdated Navigation Charts?

Ferdinand Golez, a former flag officer in command of the Navy, said that he suspects that human error was involved in the incident. He stated, “Since they (US Navy) might have the necessary equipment and necessary references they are not able to use it properly, that’s why the incident happened.”

Philippine congressional representative Antonio Alvarez has a different explanation for the incident and speculated that the crew of the ship may have only “wanted to take a quick dip in the reef famous for its pristine coral and clear waters.” He added the crew should admit “it was an R and R [rest and recuperation] gone wrong.” That’s unlikely to happen now that the 79-man minesweeper crew has promptly evacuated from the location.

Despite that, the Philippine government reacted stoically and made no serious protest to the U.S. Small wonder, since its one-time colonial masters now provide military protection to the southeast Asian nation.

The Manila Government Cannot Criticize the U.S. Military

The Philippine conflict with China over islands in the West Philippine Sea (the South China Sea) has only made the Philippines more dependent on the United States. Leftist political groups and environmental protectionists have pleaded for President Benigno Aquino to take a firmer hand in dealing with the United States.

To date, that has resulted in a U.S. offer of an additional €77,000 (about $100,000 dollars) for restoration of a world heritage reef system often compared to the Great Australian Barrier Reef.