- The Philippine Navy cuts short its resupply mission to West Philippine Sea island after encountering mechanical trouble
- A Navy official says the ship would have reached its final destination on Monday had it not suffered malfunction
- He assures the resupply mission will resume once the engine is repaired
MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Navy’s resupply mission to occupied territories in the West Philippine Sea has been temporarily suspended after the ship encountered engine trouble while on its way to Pag-asa Island which is about 280 nautical miles north-west of Palawan province.
Navy spokesperson Col. Edgard Arevalo told the Philippine Star that the BRP-Laguna (LT-501) left Puerto Princesa early this month to distribute supplies to the troops stationed in Pag-asa (international name: Thitu), but was forced to cut short its mission after suffering mechanical problem while on a stop at the Rizal Detachment (Commodore Reef).
BRP Laguna then returned to Puerto Princesa for the repair, but Arevalo said the damage was not “severe” and the engine should be up and running anytime soon to resume its mission.
In an interview with state news outlet, Capt. Cheryl Tindog, spokesperson of the military’s Western Command, said the ship was about to proceed to Kota Island after a brief stop at Rizal when personnel noticed some problems with one of its engines on February 6.
“While underway, the engine No. 2 broke down. The main engine No. 2 broke down so they decided to go back to Balabac for repair and sailed on single engine only,” Tindog said; adding that the ship eventually arrived in Balabac on February 10.
Currently, the Phillipine military has Marine personnel deployed in Ayungin Shoal, Pag-asa (Thitu) Island, Lawak (Nanshan) Island, Parola (Northeast Cay) Island, Patag (Flat) Island, Kota (Loaita) Island, Rizal (Commodore) Reef, Likas (West York) Island, and Panata (Lankiam Cay) Island; many of which are also claimed by China as part of its self-imposed ‘nine-dash’ territorial border in West Philippine Sea.
Sans the mechanical malfunction, Tindog said the ship would have already reached Pagasa on Monday, February 15. It is the farthest Philippine-occupied territory in the contested waters.
Meanwhile, Col. Arevalo assured that the resupply mission will resume immediately once the boat’s engine is restored to its running condition.
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