KERRY PROMISES COMPENSATION TO PH OVER TUBBATAHA DAMAGE

ABS-CBNnews.com

Posted at 04/03/2013 3:06 PM | Updated as of 04/03/2013 3:06 PM

MANILA – An assessment of the damage done at the Tubbataha Reef will be done jointly by the Philippines and the United States, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said.

“With the ship off the reef, our teams will be carrying out a joint assessment of the damage, after which more detailed discussions will be held on the appropriate and as well as timely compensation,” he said.
The joint assessment will be done on April 8.

Del Rosario said he met with his counterpart, US Secretary of State John Kerry, on April 2. There, Kerry reiterated anew the US’ apologies over the grounding of the USS Guardian in the World Heritage Site.

“We both agreed that it is important to understand what happened and to take the necessary navigational
safety measures to protect the reef and that would prevent other ships from grounding there,” he said.

Del Rosario stressed the Philippines will obtain proper compensation for the damage done.

“We also are of the view that a long term commitment of resources by the US to the future well-being of the reef is important,” he said.

Despite this, “Secretary Kerry also restated that the US will fully cooperate with the independent investigation being conducted by the Philippines of the incident,” he said.

“Both Secretary Kerry and I want to get to the bottom of what truly happened. He said he is a full partner of the Philippines in finding out what happened and that the US government will cooperate fully with the investigation that the Philippines is conducting,” he added.

Kerry also agreed that the incident should not derail efforts in security cooperation, amid threats from China and North Korea.