MANILA, March 30 -- France has financed the visit of one of its experts to support the Philippines in the ongoing oil spill response after the tanker MT Princess Empress sank in Oriental Mindoro last month.

In a statement Thursday, the French Embassy in Manila said Mikael Laurent of the France-based Cedre or Center for Documentation, Research and Experimentation on Accidental Water Pollution capped off his 14-day mission to the Philippines on March 29.

Laurent participated in planning meetings with the Philippine Coast Guard, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), local authorities, as well as private operators, including the French company Le Floch Depollution.

He also joined reconnaissance operations and observed...