Manila: A navy official on Thursday said they have strong suspicions that the Chinese ship that ran aground Monday evening in a restricted area in Palawan was a spy vessel.

The senior navy official, who provided information on the promise that he not be identified, said they have reason to believe that the vessel was on an espionage mission when it encountered trouble in Tubbataha Reef.

He said this is because some of the 12 crew of the grounded ship, identified as the “Min Long Yu,” was observed seen wearing camouflage uniforms at the time of the grounding incident.

“Our observers spotted some of them wearing camouflage uniforms similar to that worn by PLAN Marine Corps members. This may provide a strong argument for the insinuations that the Chinese crew members are not fishermen at all,” he pointed out.

The 12 Chinese fishermen could face long jail terms after being charged with poaching and bribery, a prosecutor said Thursday.

“We will seek to quickly prosecute and resolve this case,” Alen Ross Rodriguez, chief prosecutor in the island province of Palawan, which has jurisdiction over Tubbataha, said.

“No one can just enter our waters and wilfully destroy our marine life.”

Rodriguez said the 12 had been charged with poaching for violating a law that bans fishing in Tubbataha, an isolated reef in the Sulu Sea famed for its spectacular and diverse marine life.

The 48-metre steel-hulled Min Long Yu ran aground evening on Monday in Tubbataha, an ecologically important reef structure in Palawan which had been recognised by the UNESCO World Heritage Site. At the time that the incident occurred, it was unclear what the Chinese vessel’s intentions in the area were.

The Tubbataha Reef is not located in an area where commercial vessels would typically pass. Even if it had been necessary for the Min Long Yu to pass the area, it needs to secure permission from park rangers who oversee the area.

At present, the stricken Chinese vessel remains grounded in Tubbataha.

The grounding of the Chinese vessel took place week after the American mine countermeasures vessel, the USS Guardian was removed from Tubbataha Reef.

The 68-metre-long American vessel was removed last March 30 after the US Navy contracted a private firm to dismantle the ship so as not to damage important reef structures.

According to a Philippine Coast Guard official, one of its vessels, the BRP Corregidor are on the way to tow the Min Long Yu and dislodge it from the reef structure.

The official said it may not be necessary to dismantle the vessel as what was done with the USS Guardian.

Coast Guard chief, Rear Admiral Rodolfo Isorena the BRP Corregidor had taken part in the marine salvage operations for the USS Guardian and is crewed by experienced rescuers and marine environmental protection personnel.

Other that members of the Coast Guard Special Operations Group, the BRP Corregidor also has a medical team on board and two teams of Marine Environmental Protection Command operatives.

Officials said operations would be carried out by salvage teams to siphon off some 80,000 litres of diesel from the stricken ship so that the surrounding environment will be free from the danger of pollution.

On Wednesday, President Benigno Aquino III said the crew and owner of the Min Long Yu would be charged with violations of laws on environmental protection and illegal entry.