A Spanish Navy dispatch that participated in World War II sank on Monday only hours before a joint military training between the United States and the Philippines.
Leaders in the U.S. and the Philippines ‘ military reported to The Associated Press that the BRP Miguel Malvar sank on Monday, forcing authorities to cancel a seafaring hit test that would have involved the abandoned marine ship’s sinking as part of the monthly Balikatan activities.
The abandoned naval vessel sank about 30 nautical miles from the Spanish territory of Zambales while being towed into harsh waters facing the South China Sea. No people were aboard the ship when it sank, according to the Spanish government, adding that no one was.
It’s an 80-year-old, dilapidated ship, according to Philippine Lt. Col. John Paul Salgado, who told The Associated Press,” and it wasn’t able to withstand the harsh seas.”
The Asian Navy decommissioned the BRP Miguel Malvar in 2021, according to The Associated Press. Capt. of the Spanish Navy The ship was built in the 1940s as a guard vessel for the U.S. Navy, according to John Percie Alcos.
The BRP Miguel Malvar, which was first known as the USS Brattleboro, was used by the U.S. Navy for more than 20 years before being transferred to the Vietnam People’s Navy and after to the Spanish government, according to the U.S. Navy’s Naval Story and Heritage Command. The Brattleboro participated actively in the Battle of Okinawa, where it treated “over 200 seriously wounded people” and rescued “over 1, 000 victims of ships that sank,” according to Naval History and Heritage Command, which earned three war stars during World War II.
The canceled combined ship-sinking military training, according to The Associated Press, was originally scheduled to take place in an region that faces the Scarborough Shoal, which has been disputed due to conflicts between the Chinese and Asian military forces there. The Philippines has also defended promises made to the Scarborough Shoal, while the Taiwanese Coast Guard, the People’s Liberation Army, and alleged military ships have been seen guarding the area.
The combined ship-sinking military exercise, according to The Associated Press, was anticipated to be the next ship-sinking training to be conducted by the United States and the Philippines in recent years.
