BRP Sierra Madre set to be repaired manilastandardtoday/2014/03/23/brp-sierra-madre-set-to-be-repaired/ A SECURITY official on Saturday bared a plan to repair the grounded Philippine Navy ship “BRP Sierra Madre which ran aground the Ayungin Shoal in 1999. The official, who asked not to be identified for lack of authority to speak on the matter, said the Sierra Madre (PS-57), a tank landing ship, needs immediate repair because it is already falling apart although it houses several Marines who serve as security at the shoal. “There is no plan to put up any structures in Ayungin Shoal,” the official said. “What we are doing there is conducting repairs inside the ship to keep it from disintegrating.” The Sierra Madre used to be the USS Harnett County (LST-821) which served in the United States Navy during World War II and Vietnam war. After it was ran aground at the Ayungin Reef, it has served as quarters for the Philippine Marines stationed at the shoal in a bid to prevent a Chinese incursion similar to what they did in the Scarborough Shoal in 2012. “We will not leave because it’s ours,” the security official said even as he assured that troops deployed in Ayungin as well as those manning military outpost in the Kalayaan Island Group will continue to receive the needed provisions despite the presence of Chinese ships. Meanwhile, Palace spokeswoman Abigail Valte said on Saturday the Aquino administration’s efforts to modernize the Armed Forces of the Philippines has nothing to do with the country’s sea dispute with China. “The President’s position has always been to strengthen our Armed Forces so that we will have a minimum credible defense posture,” Valte said. She said the President previously announced that about 63,000 new rifles will be issued to the AFP in April and modern boats, Sokol combat utility helicopters, navy helicopters, and other new vehicles will also be acquired in the future. He also said that 12 lead-in fighter trainer aircraft are also to be purchased for territorial defense operations and to help the eight utility helicopters during search and rescue and disaster-relief missions.
Posted on: Sun, 23 Mar 2014 12:45:36 +0000