MANILA (Reuters) — The Philippine Navy is quietly reinforcing the hull
and deck of a rusting ship it ran aground on a disputed South China Sea reef in
1999 to stop it breaking apart, determined to hold the shoal as Beijing creates
a string of man-made islands nearby.
Using wooden fishing boats and other small craft, the navy has run the
gauntlet of the Chinese Coast Guard to move cement, steel, cabling and welding
equipment to the BRP Sierra Madre since late last year, two navy officers who
have been inside the vessel told Reuters in recent interviews.
The 100-meter-long tank landing ship was built for the U.S. Navy during
World War II. It was eventually transferred to the Philippine Navy, which
deliberately grounded it on Second Thomas Shoal to mark Manila’s claim to the
reef in the Spratly archipelago of the South China Sea. A small contingent of
Philippine soldiers are stationed onboard.
Manila regards Second Thomas Shoal, which lies 105 nautical miles
southwest of the Philippine region of Palawan, as being within its
200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone. China, which claims virtually all
the South China Sea, says the reef is part of its territory.
“We know China has been waiting for the ship to disintegrate, but we are
doing everything to hold it together,” said one of the officers, adding that
while the work was progressing slowly, it should be finished by the year-end.
The other naval officer said welding was being done at night because of
the heat. Concrete foundations were being laid inside the ship’s hull to try to
stabilize it, he added.
Without giving exact dates, both sources said they witnessed the repairs
taking place earlier this year. They declined to be identified because they
were not authorized to speak to the media.
The soldiers currently stationed on the ship, who are demolition experts,
were doing the work, said the second source.
Just to the west of Second Thomas Shoal is Mischief Reef, one of seven
coral formations in the Spratlys that China is rapidly turning into islands
that Beijing says will have undefined military purposes.
Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei also have overlapping claims to the
Spratly waterway, which is some 1,100 kilometers from the Chinese mainland.
Asked about the repairs, Philippine Foreign Ministry spokesman Charles
Jose declined to comment. But such work would not violate an informal code of
conduct signed in 2002 by China and Southeast Asian states that prohibited any
change to the status quo in disputed areas, he said.
“In our view, repairs and maintenance of existing facilities are allowed
... especially if such repairs and maintenance work are for the safety of our
personnel and safety of navigation,” Jose added.
The Philippine Defense Ministry declined to comment.
China’s Defense and Foreign Ministries did not respond to a request for
comment.
A Philippine general familiar with the repairs told Reuters the ship’s
hull and deck were being strengthened, and air-conditioning units added.
“We are improving the living quarters inside, to make life for our
soldiers more comfortable,” he said, declining to give further details about
the repairs or be identified.
Pictures taken by a Reuters photographer who sailed to the BRP Sierra
Madre with other media in March last year show a pockmarked vessel covered in
rust, sitting on the permanently submerged reef but listing slightly to one
side. Much of the boat’s hull is visible.
Still on active duty
Besides being a military outpost, the BRP Sierra Madre is also a
commissioned Philippine Navy ship.
That means Manila could request U.S. military assistance under a
decades-old security treaty with Washington if the ship was attacked, said
senior Philippine military officials.
“Even if it’s covered with rust, it will remain an active duty
commissioned navy ship. It’s a symbol of our sovereignty,” said the Philippine
general.
Source: Japan News. 15 July 2015
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