A Long March-5 rocket, carrying an orbiter, lander and rover as part of the Tianwen-1 mission to Mars, lifts off from the Wenchang Space Launch Centre in southern China's Hainan Province on July 23, 2020. Noel Celis, AFP/File 

MANILA — The Armed Forces of the Philippines on Tuesday said it was prepared to respond in case debris from China’s rocket could cause harm to Filipinos.

The Office of the Civil Defense earlier alerted residents in Palawan and Basilan, where parts of China’s Long March 8A rocket were expected to land.

The Chinese rocket was scheduled to take off from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in Hainan with a launch window between 9:22 a.m. and 10:16 a.m.

“There has been a notice already issued by the Office of Civil Defense—the AFP, the Navy, the Air Force, the Army [are] prepared to respond to any request to any eventuality,” Philippine Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad told reporters in a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

“We have already informed our field units what to do in the event of the debris causing any harm or endanger the security of our people,” he added.

The OCD identified the following drop points where debris from the rocket could land. 

• Drop Zone 1 – approximately 85 nautical miles from Rozul Reef
• Drop Zone 2 – approximately 40 nautical miles from Puerto Princesa, Palawan
• Drop Zone 3 – approximately 33 nautical miles from Hadji Muhtamad, Basilan
• 
  
• As of noon, the AFP has yet to receive reports of suspected debris sightings.

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