BRP Andres Bonifacio meets, greets Taiwan Navy ship in waters off Batanes

The Philippine Navy's BRP Andres Bonifacio (PS17) and a Taiwanese Navy ship exchanged signals in compliance with the "Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea" (CUES) during their unplanned meeting at the northern tip of Mabudis island in Batanes.

BRP Andres Bonifacio was bound for Busan, South Korea on Wednesday when it encountered Wu Chang (FFG-1205). Both ships exchanged a series of signals contained in the CUES.

The vessels communicated through radio while in transit in high seas and in proximity with one another.

The CUES was signed by 21-member navies during the Western Pacific Naval Symposium in China in April 2014 and is adopted to prevent armed clashes in the disputed waters.

While not legally binding, CUES procedure is a "coordinated means that covers standardized protocol of safety and maneuvering instructions that naval ships and naval aircraft [follow] during unplanned encounters with other navy ships and aircraft in the maritime commons," the navy said.

It has already been practiced in routine naval operations involving other ships and had been included in various bilateral and multilateral naval exercises, the navy noted. —Jamil Santos/NB, GMA News