RP navy suspects piracy, seizes Chinese ship<\/p>\n
MANILA (Reuter): The Philippine Navy on Saturday seized a
\nsuspected Chinese pirate ship and its 20 crewmen after they tried
\nto ram a navy boat in a gunbattle northwest of Manila, officials
\nsaid yesterday.<\/p>\n
There were no casualties in the second sea clash in three
\nweeks between the Philippine Navy and suspected Chinese vessels
\noff the Subic Bay free port, an area notorious for pirates.<\/p>\n
"Definitely this is a foreign ship, possibly Chinese. The crew
\nlooks like Chinese," Navy chief Vice-Admiral Pio Carranza told
\nreporters. Their ID cards don't match their ages or their faces.
\nThis is a suspected pirate ship."<\/p>\n
Two navy patrol ships and a gunboat engaged the intruding
\nvessel, driving it back to land with a heavy barrage of gunfire
\nwhen it tried to flee to the high seas, Carranza said.<\/p>\n
Capt. Ernesto de Leon, who commanded the navy force,
\npersonally briefed President Fidel Ramos on the incident,
\nunderlining the importance Manila was attaching to the incident.<\/p>\n
Ramos abruptly ended the briefing after de Leon said his crew
\nseized many documents aboard, including a seaman's book bearing
\nthe "red star".<\/p>\n
"You continue the investigation," Ramos said, cutting short
\nthe officer's account.<\/p>\n
In the first incident on Jan. 22, a Philippine Navy craft and
\na suspected Chinese vessel exchanged shots in a 90-minute
\nencounter that ended when the Philippine boat ran out of fuel.<\/p>\n
The navy later said it believed the foreign vessel had sunk.
\nIts identity has not been clearly established but the navy later
\nsaid it was probably a Chinese pirate boat. China denied its
\nships were involved in that incident.<\/p>\n
Saturday's clash erupted after the foreign vessel ignored
\nwarnings from a navy boat. It later tried to ram the navy boat
\nand opened fire on it, de Leon told President Ramos.<\/p>\n
"They were using rifles, AK-47s most likely, sir," he said.<\/p>\n
The navy would not say if arms were found aboard the ship but
\nCarranza said its crew were seen throwing items overboard before
\nthey were captured.<\/p>\n
At the height of the clash, the crewmen raised a Philippine
\nflag "but it was inverted", de Leon said.<\/p>\n
The navy allowed journalists to go near the captured boat as
\nit lay under heavy guard at navy headquarters in Manila Bay but
\nthe crewmen refused to answer questions shouted at them.<\/p>\n
The vessel had sleeker lines than a cargo ship but was covered
\nalmost entirely in rust. The numbers "4467" were barely visible
\nthrough the rust on the hull.<\/p>\n
The crew, facing charges of illegal intrusion, squatted on the
\nmain deck, using chopsticks and plastic spoons to scoop up rice
\nand noodles from plastic bowls. Navy men, some with guns, stood a
\nfew meters away from them as they ate meals.<\/p>\n
They grinned when asked if they came from China.<\/p>\n
The crew is facing charges of illegal intrusion but the navy
\nchief did not rule out other charges being filed.<\/p>\n
Navy officers said a patrol first spotted the vessel about
\nfive miles from the entrance to Subic Bay, a former U.S. naval
\nbase converted into an export zone and free port.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rp-navy-suspects-piracy-seizes-chinese-ship-1447893297",
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