Philippines: US must pay penalty for damaging reef

Philippine President Benigno Aquino says the US Navy will have to pay the penalties for damaging a UNESCO-listed World Heritage coral reef in the Southeast Asian country’s waters.

Since January 17, the 68-meter minesweeper USS Guardian has been stuck off Tubbataha Reef in a remote part of the Sulu Sea, after running aground and damaging 1,000 square meters of the marine site.

The head of the marine park supervising Tubbataha says the vessel ignored warnings that it was entering a protected marine sanctuary.

The incident stirred fury in the Philippines, prompting a US apology.

Speaking to reporters in Davos, Switzerland, on Sunday, Aquino accepted the US apology, saying, “But that doesn’t exempt them from having to comply with our laws.”

“They violated it (the reef area), there are penalties,” he said.

Last week, the Philippine government said it was seeking heavy fines for the coral damage, but Aquino says penalties will be assessed after the US minesweeper is plucked from the reef.

Under Philippine law, only research and tourism vessels approved by the government can enter the Tubbataha marine sanctuary.