Philippines joins US in search for Taiwanese fishing vessel

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine coast guard says it has joined a search for a Taiwanese-flagged fishing vessel carrying six people, which was last spotted more than a week ago off Palau in the western Pacific. The Philippine coast guard, citing Taiwanese counterparts, said Monday that U.S. Coast Guard aircraft have helped carry out a search, along with other Taiwanese fishing vessels, for Sheng Feng No. 128. It was last seen Feb. 17 with one Taiwanese and five Indonesian fishermen about 414 nautical miles northwest of Palau. The Philippine coast guard deployed a Cessna plane Monday and asked five regional coast guard commands to launch a search off the country’s eastern coast where the missing fishing vessel may have drifted from the Pacific.