Manila to probe island 'intrusion'

Manila to probe island 'intrusion'

MANILA (AFP): Two Philippine congressmen are to investigate reports that the Malaysian navy allegedly abducted seven Filipinos from a Philippine island when visiting the area, officials said yesterday.

Jaime Lopez, chairman of the House of Representatives foreign affairs committee, and Roquito Ablan of the interparliamentary relations and diplomacy committee told reporters they would visit the Balabac strait to determine if the Malaysians committed violations on Philippine territory.

The senate on Monday announced its own investigation into the reported raid by a Malaysian navy vessel on the seven Filipinos on the tiny island of Mangsee in the Balabac group last April 15.

Defense Secretary Renato de Villa had said the attack "was in retaliation (for) a piracy attack by suspected Filipino pirates coming from the general area against a Malaysian fishing boat, so this has now taken on an international diplomatic dimension."