PHL readies three ships to help Pinoys if Korean peninsula conflict worsens

The Philippine Navy alerted on Monday placed on standby three ships to help Filipinos if tensions between North and South Korea worsen.

Navy Chief Vice Admiral Jose Luis Alano also ordered troops to be alert for possible deployment to assist Filipinos who will be affected if the conflict arises into a full blown crisis.

The ships readied for deployment included two logistics vessels and an escort.

The vessels will operated by the Navy's Fleet-Marine Ready Force (FMRF) under the command of Commodore Alexander Lopez.

On Tuesday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) raised the alert level in South Korea to one days after North Korea announced it was entering into a state of war against the South.

DFA Spokesman Raul Hernandez told Unang Hirit's Arnold Clavio that alert level one meant that the Filipinos in South Korea — numbering over 40,000 — were already informed about the situation and were urged to be prepared for any situtation.

North Korea, after coming under international sanctions for its nuclear test, announced on Saturday that it was entering a "state of war" with South Korea.

A report of the Reuters news agency said few believe North Korea will risk starting a full-out war.

The two Koreas have been in a technical state of war because their 1950-53 conflict ended under an armistice and not a peace treaty, although Pyongyang earlier in March declared the truce no longer valid.

Reuters on Thursday reported that the United States said it would soon send a missile defense system to Guam to defend it from North Korea, as the U.S. military adjusts to what Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called a "real and clear danger" from Pyongyang.

Hours later, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said North Korea had moved what appeared to be a mid-range Musudan missile to its east coast. It was not clear if the North planned to fire the rocket or was just putting it on display as a show of force, one South Korean government source was quoted as saying.

North Korea also barred entry to a joint industrial complex it shares with the South for a second day on Thursday and said it would shut the zone if Seoul continued to insult it.

Events on the Korean peninsula have begun to unnerve global financial markets long used to the rhetoric North Korea routinely hurls at Seoul and Washington.
- with reports from Reuters, VVP, GMA News  

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