Billowing smoke from BRP Sierra Madre part of fire drill – Navy

This file photo taken on April 23, 2023 shows the grounded Philippine navy ship BRP Sierra Madre AFP)

MANILA, Philippines — Smoke seen billowing from BRP Sierra Madre in the West Philippine Sea was part of a fire drill recently held there, a Philippine Navy official said on Tuesday.

Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, said the fire drills held on Feb. 28 were part of the military’s regular operational exercises there.

“These [activites] are designed to ensure the survivability and operational readiness of that warship,” Trinidad said in a regular press briefing of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

This was disclosed by Trinidad after Chinese state media CTGN released footage showing smoke pouring from the BRP Sierra Madre, per the South China Morning Post report.

The official admitted that “the smoke incidentally went beyond what they were intending to exercise.”

“Nevertheless, this was put under control, there was no damage to the environment, all the men aboard the ship are safe,” he added. “The exercise was conducted successfully.”

Trinidad said the huge smoke occurred due to strong winds.

“It was a fire drill, and they usually use combustible materials. it [just] so happened because of the strong winds, but they were able to put everything under control,” he said.

A naval outpost grounded in Ayungin Shoal since 1999, the resupply activity to the BRP Sierra Madre has become one of the flashpoints of tensions between Manila and Beijing.

READ: Teodoro blasts China’s ‘hypocrisy’ for claiming BRP Sierra Madre causes harm in WPS

Beijing asserts sovereignty in almost the entire South China Sea, including most of the West Philippine Sea, even if such a claim has been effectively invalidated by the arbitral award issued in July 2016.

This landmark ruling stemmed from a case filed by Manila in 2013 — or a year after its tense standoff with Beijing over Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, whose lagoon is now under China’s effective control.