PAL ready to evacuate OFWs

North Korea says US, South Korea drills push peninsula to brink of war
By GENALYN D. KABILING and THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
November 26, 2010, 5:40pm

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s flag carrier, Philippine Airlines (PAL), is ready to organize special flights to evacuate thousands of Filipinos in South Korea as North Korea warned Friday that planned United States-South Korean military drills are pushing the peninsula to the brink of war.

PAL President Jaime Bautista said they offered the assistance in the contingency preparations during a meeting with Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. and other senior government officials in Malacañang.

“We informed Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa that PAL has available aircraft that it can use for emergency flights to repatriate Filipinos who might be trapped in the dispute between North and South Korea,” Bautista said in a statement.

“We want to assure the government and our ‘kababayans’ in South Korea that the national flag carrier is always ready to assist in times of emergency and lend a helping hand in their hour of need,” he added.

Bautista said they are considering areas in South Korea where they could safely land and pick upFilipinos for flights back to the Philippines.

“We fervently hope that the conflict in Korea would soon end, but we can’t take things for granted. That’s why we have thrown our full cooperation and support to government in case of a worst case scenario,” Bautista said.

At present, PAL has continued its regular flights to Seoul and Busan until otherwise advised either by Philippine or South Korean authorities. PAL flies Manila-Seoul twice a day, to Busan four times a week, and daily from Cebu to Seoul.

The airline staff in Seoul has also provided updates on the conflict to PAL management based on information from the Philippine embassy in South Korea. PAL has often been called to operate emergency missions to airlift Filipinos out of conflict-stricken territories.

Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda said they appreciate the assistance offered by the local airline as the government firms up contingency plans, including logistical movement of Filipinos to safer grounsd, amid the conflict in the Korean peninsula.

Lacierda said other shipping companies have also offered to operate special trips to move Filipinos out of troubled territory.

Reckless plan
North Korea's state news agency said drills this weekend involving South Korean forces and a US nuclear powered supercarrier in waters south of Tuesday's skirmish between the rival Koreas are a reckless plan by “trigger-happy elements” and that the maneuvers target the North.

“The situation on the Korean peninsula is inching closer to the brink of war,” the dispatch from the Korean Central News Agency said.

The comments came ahead of a planned visit Friday by Gen. Walter Sharp, the US military commander in South Korea, to the island targeted by the North Korean attack to show solidarity with ally Seoul.

Four South Koreans – two marines and two civilians – were killed in the hour-long skirmish Tuesday after North Korea unleashed a hail of artillery on the Yeonpyeong, but the island was quiet Friday morning, with most residents having evacuated to the mainland.

Marines with M-16 rifles patrolled a seawall, while others gazed toward North Korea from a guard post on a cliff. Technicians worked to restore communication lines. Several stray dogs growled near destroyed houses.

The heightened animosity between the Koreas is taking place as the North undergoes a delicate transition of power from leader Kim Jong Il to his son Kim Jong Un, who is in his late 20s and is expected to eventually succeed his ailing father.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has ordered reinforcements for about 4,000 troops on Yeonpyeong and four other Yellow Sea islands, as well as top-level weaponry for the soldiers and upgraded rules of engagement that would create a new category of response when civilian areas are targeted.

He also sacked his defense minister amid intense criticism over lapses in the country's response to the attack.

In scenes reminiscent of the Korean War 60 years ago, dazed residents of Yeonpyeong island this week have foraged through blackened rubble for pieces of their lives and lugged their possession down eerily deserted streets strewn with bent metal.

“It was a sea of fire,” resident Lee In-ku said Thursday, recalling the flames that rolled through the streets of this island that is home to military bases as well as a fishing community famous for its catches of crab. The spit of land had only six pieces of artillery.

North Korea blamed South Korean drills this week as the motivation behind its attack – but Lee said the South could not afford to abandon such preparation now.

“We should not ease our sense of crisis in preparation for the possibility of another provocation by North Korea,” spokesman Hong Sang-pyo quoted President Lee Myung-bak as saying. “A provocation like this can recur any time.”

Washington and Seoul also ratcheted up pressure on China, North Korea's main ally and biggest benefactor, to restrain Pyongyang.

Without criticizing the North, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao responded by calling on all sides to show "maximum restraint" and pushed again to restart the six-nation talks aimed at persuading North Korea to dismantle its nuclear programs in exchange for aid. Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, meanwhile, canceled a trip to Seoul this week.

On Thursday, Lee accepted Defense Minister Kim Tae-young's offer to resign after lawmakers criticized the government, claiming officials were unprepared for the attack and that the military response was too slow.

Skirmishes between the Korean militaries are not uncommon, but North Korea's heavy bombardment of Yeonpyeong Island took hostilities to a new level because civilians were killed.

South Korean troops returned fire and scrambled fighter jets in response. Two South Korean marines and two construction workers were killed and at least 18 others wounded. South Korea has said casualties on the North Korean side were likely significant, but none were immediately reported by the country.

Marine Lt. Col. Joo Jong-wha acknowledged that the island is acutely short of artillery, saying it has only six pieces: the howitzers used in Tuesday's skirmish.

“In artillery, you're supposed to move on after firing to mask your location so that they don't strike right back at you,” he told reporters. “But we have too few artillery.”

PH response team
Meanwhile, the Philippines will dispatch today a six-man rapid response team, led by Special Envoy Roy Cimatu, to assist Filipinos in South Korea if and when conflict escalates in the tension-filled peninsula, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.

According Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos Jr., the team is tasked to assist officials of the the Philippine Embassy in South Korea in executing contingency plans for Filipinos who are mostly in Incheon near the de-militarized zone.

The team is also composed of Eric Andaya of the DFA, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Deputy Administrator Omar Cruz, and representatives from the Office of Civil Defense.

Conejos further said during a press briefing at the DFA heaquarters in Pasay City the situation in South Korea is quiet right now and that they are optimistic that this will go on.

Commodore Miguel Rodriguez, head of the naval fleet marine command, said the Armed Forces of the Philippines is also on alert and ready to respond to any eventuality. (With a report from Roy C. Mabasa)

kasi kasi bat ba ayaw nalang lumipat ng palaruan tong south at america anlaki ng dagat doon pa talga nila gusto sa nakikita ng north pwede nman doon sa mga kaalyado nila, anong bang meron sa doon at ayaw nila umalis ........ tsk...tsk....tskk...PRAY NALNG TAYO MGA KABAYAN