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Hawaii-based aircraft carrier (group) to help in retrieval operations in the Philippines
by jayr_patron | June 25, 2008 at 05:19 pm | 163 views | 2 comments | 15 recommendations
US President George W. Bush has pledged further assistance in the on-going search and retrieval operations in the sunken Sulpicio Lines ferry, MV Princess of the Stars, during a meeting with his Philippine counterpart, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
The USS Ronald Reagan, the newest and largest Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, joins an Okinawa-based US Navy ship and a surveillance airplane. The aircraft carrier is expected to arrive in the next 48 hours.
But this offer of goodwill goes with its share of resistance from Filipino politicians.
Senators Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and Rodolfo Biazon said the government should determine if the entry of a nuclear-powered ship might violate the nuclear-free provision of the Constitution along with other treaties and international agreements against nuclear weapons.
Pimentel and Biazon said Mrs. Arroyo should be aware of the constitutional prohibition against entry of nuclear weapons.
Although the USS Ronald Reagan is a “nuclear powered ship,” the senators said the government couldn’t guarantee if the carrier, or any of its support ships, is carrying any nuclear weapons once it enters the country.
“An aircraft carrier is not designed for salvage. The USS Ronald Reagan is a strategic and combat vessel whose main assets are aircraft, F-18s. What will the F-18s do for the recovery [efforts]?” Biazon, a former chief of staff of the Armed Forces, said in a press conference.
He said the US government should have sent smaller ships with a crane instead.
The two senators' remarks received protests from the public, saying that Senators Pimentel and Biazon are "ignorant" and merely "grandstanding".
Timber10495 commented on Philstar.com:
"In 2004, the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln was used as a platform for dozens of helicopters that carried food, water, medical and other supplies for the tsunami victims. Its crew even helped the Indonesian military in rescue and recovery efforts, and its medical staff treated thousands of patients.
Now the USS Ronald Reagan battle group is on a similar mission. I am pretty sure that this group has a special team of divers, underwater welders, equipment technicians, etc who are capable of creating openings so bodies can be recovered from the bowels of the sunken ship. Perhaps the group may even be equipped with inflatable flotation bags that could move the sunken ship into a position that would allow divers easier access to the ship's interior."
Another, nicknamed taburnok, said, "next time philippines, please refrain from voting "know it all" senators!!!".
June 25, 2008 at 05:19 pm by jayr_patron, 163 views, 2 comments
Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (2)
at 17:37 on June 25th, 2008
jayr_patron, I like this story. It's good stuff.
Thanks for updating this story. It will be interesting to see what they decide to do.
at 05:27 on June 26th, 2008
jayr_patron, I like this story. It's good stuff. It looks like sometimes you can't win no matter which way you turn.