The Philippine Navy on Tuesday said it is still not considering Escoda or Sabina Shoal as a “new flashpoint” for further incidents in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) despite the latest collisions between Philippine and Chinese ships in the disputed waters.
“Sabina or Escoda Shoal is not a new flashpoint,” Philippine Navy spokesperson for WPS Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said in a press briefing.
He said the illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive actions of China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), Coast Guard (CCG), and maritime militia vessels are the “cause of all the dynamics in the WPS.”
“The presence of the CCG, the maritime militia, and the PLAN is illegal. Their actions are coercive and aggressive. Their messages are deceptive. These are the cause of all the dynamics in the WPS,” he said.
According to Trinidad, the collisions between Philippine Coast Guard and CCG ships near Escoda Shoal on Monday were the first in recent memory.
Trinidad said China’s actions will be below the threshold and will not lead to a conflict because Beijing “would like to win without firing a shot” to secure their massive claims in the South China Sea.
“All of the actions of the PLAN, the CCG, and the maritime militia will be below the threshold of conflict. It will not reach the point that they will initiate escalation to the point of conflict,” the Navy official said.
“All their actions will be an interplay of the different instruments of national power, diplomatic, informational, legal, all the other instruments to include the military wherein they would like to win without firing a shot. That is Chinese warfighting thought,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Philippine government will study the possibility of filing a case against China over the latest collisions, National Maritime Council (NMC) spokesperson Alexander Lopez said Monday.
”We are looking at that especially the part of the Coast Guard kasi they know more… maybe we’ll get back to you later on as we get more inputs from the Coast guard,” Lopez said.
Escoda Shoal is located 75 nautical miles or about 140 kilometers off Palawan and is within the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
The Coast Guard’s BRP Teresa Magbanua has been stationed in Escoda Shoal since April amid reports of China’s reclamation activities in the area.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry recently lodged a formal protest over the presence of the Teresa Magbanua in Escoda Shoal.
Despite talks for de-escalation, tensions in WPS continue amid China’s territorial claims in the region.
The South China Sea is a conduit for more than $3 trillion in annual ship commerce. Aside from the Philippines, China has overlapping claims in the area with Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei.
In 2016, an international arbitration tribunal in The Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines over China’s massive claims in the SCS, saying it has “no legal basis.”
China, however, does not recognize the decision and instead has deployed a significant number of ships in the contested areas that have displayed overt and aggressive acts against Filipino sea vessels and aircraft. —RF, GMA Integrated News
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