Another ship to replace BRP Magbanua amid China’s ‘retreat’ claim
BRP Teresa Magbanua withdrew from Escoda Shoal and sailed back to its home port in Palawan but the National Maritime Council (NMC) says another ship will take its place, refuting China’s boasts that the Philippines “retreated.”
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Sunday said its flagship was compelled to return to port after five months of serving as the country’s lone sentinel in the hotly disputed waters due to a confluence of reasons.
“While committed to her mission at Escoda Shoal, BRP Teresa Magbanua was compelled to return to port due to unfavorable weather conditions, depleted supplies of daily necessities, and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care.” PCG Spokesperson for WPS Commodore Jay Tarriela said in a statement.
“This has been further complicated by the structural damage to the vessel resulting from the deliberate ramming by the China Coast Guard on August 31, 2024,” he added.
However, NMC spokesperson Alexander Lopez assured that another ship will be deployed to the shoal to replace the one that left.
Lopez did not disclose when the replacement would arrive, or if that vessel would be the BRP Melchora Aquino – BRP Teresa Magbanua’s sister ship that shares the same advanced capabilities.
The PCG leadership commended the officers and men aboard BRP Teresa Magbanua for facing down a flotilla of Chinese vessels during its tour in Escoda Shoal, which is only 248 kilometers away from Palawan but 1,316 kilometers from Hainan, China’s closest landmass.
“Their steadfast presence has played a crucial role in countering illegal activities that threaten our marine environment and thwarting attempts by other state actors to engage in surreptitious reclamation in the area. They carried out and performed their mission in Escoda Shoal even in dangerous and adverse operational conditions,”
Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who chairs the NMC, said BRP Teresa Magbanua left the shoal with its mission accomplished.
“During her deployment at Escoda Shoal, she challenged encirclement by a larger flotilla of intruders, battled inclement weather, with her crew surviving on diminished daily provisions,” he said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Chinese government called the PCG vessel’s departure from the atoll a “retreat” by the Philippines.
“The actions of the Philippine side seriously infringed upon China’s territorial sovereignty and violated the Declaration on the Conduct during this period. The Chinese side took controlled measures against vessel No. 9701 [BRP Magbanua] in accordance with the law, while the Philippine side repeatedly attempted to organize forced supply operations, all of which ended in failure.” China Coast Guard spokesperson Liu Dejun said in a statement.
As this developed, Chester Cabalza, president and founder of the think-tank International Development and Security Cooperation (IDSC), said the PCG’s exit from Escoda Shoal was a good move in the interim because would decrease tensions between China and Philippines.
“Although there was no joint communiqué in the 10th BCM (Bilateral Consultation Mechanism on the South China Sea), wherein the Escoda Shoal issue was discussed, perhaps this was the best decision for the meantime to maintain peace and order in the disputed largest reef.” he told the Manila Standard.
He was referring to the talks that took place in Beijing last Wednesday, wherein Philippine Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Maria Theresa Lazaro and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong agreed to approach the simmering maritime dispute “through peaceful dialogue.”
Immediately following that meeting Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesperson Teresita Lazaro said that the Philippines has not changed its stance that Escoda Shoal lies within the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
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