At least three Philippine ships have arrived in an area in Western Palawan to prevent a repeat of an encounter between a Philippine exploration vessel and three Chinese Navy patrol boats last week. The three ships have started enforcing the Philippines' sovereignty over the area as of Monday, according to a report by radio dzBB's Carlo Mateo. Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) commandant Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo said he is confident the presence of the vessels will prevent a repeat of last week's incident. On Saturday, the PCG said the ships were sent included:
two search-and-rescue vessels with Special Operations Group divers and a medical team; and a monitoring-control-surveillance (MCS) vessel. The PCG said the vessels "have been specifically tasked to conduct maritime patrols and assist said DOE-contracted survey vessels, to include those currently undertaking marine seismic survey within the area of Reed Bank, west of Palawan which earlier reported being harassed by Chinese vessels." The PCG pointed out the Reed Bank is only some 80 nautical miles west of Palawan mainland. On Friday, the Philippines asked China to explain its side on the encounter. The Philippines said it will send a Spratly expert to China in the next few days to explain the country's position on the incident. Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office secretary Ramon Carandang said the area where the incident occurred was outside the disputed Spratly Islands. "Hindi yan nangyari sa Spratlys, hindi yan nangyari sa contested area. Nangyari yan sa Reed Bank sa Western Palawan sa loob mismo ng teritoryo ng Pilipinas. Hindi ito kinu-question ng ibang bansa," Carandang said on government-run dzRB radio onSunday. (It did not happen in the Spratlys or in the contested area. It happened in Reed Bank in Western Palawan, inside Philippine territory. The other claimants to the Spratlys do not contest this.) – VVP, GMA News 
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