PCG pulls out vessel from Escoda Shoal

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY—The government will send another vessel to Escoda (Sabina) Shoal to replace a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ship that returned to port on Sunday after an unprecedented deployment at the contested feature in the West Philippine Sea.

The 97-meter BRP Teresa Magbanua, one of the PCG’s biggest and most modern ships that spent five months anchored at Escoda Shoal to keep China in check, was pulled out for repair and maintenance and to give its crew some rest.

In a Viber message to the Inquirer, National Maritime Council (NMC) spokesperson Alexander Lopez made the assurance that the PCG was replacing the Magbanua with another vessel, but did not provide other details.

“I cannot divulge operational matters at the moment. What we can state is that our presence will be sustained and we will keep monitoring and documenting any or all illegal activities of the other side for our strategic purpose,” he said, alluding to China.

He said the Magbanua’s replacement vessel was en route to its destination in Escoda Shoal.

“The commandant’s instruction is that as soon as weather permits, that ship will be on its way because as of yesterday (Saturday), the seas were rough,” he added, referring to Adm. Ronnie Gil Gavan.

The NMC will make sure that China’s occupation of Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal in 2012 will not be repeated on Escoda, Lopez said in a separate message to reporters.

“Scarborough Shoal is a lesson learned for us, so again, the government resolved that we will maintain our presence in whatever way and we will continue to monitor and enforce our rights, exercise our rights, sovereignty and jurisdiction over the area,” he said.

The 2012 standoff led to the filing by the Philippine government of a case at the Hague arbitration tribunal, which in 2016 issued a ruling voiding China’s expansive and historical claims. Beijing has refused to recognize the decision.

‘Mission accomplished’

As soon as the Magbanua docked in port, three of the four personnel suffering from dehydration were evacuated on stretchers and taken by three waiting ambulances.

“We decided to direct you to proceed to Puerto Princesa City because your crew is getting sick, your ship has suffered critical damage and the weather is bad,” said Gavan, as he welcomed the BRP Teresa Magbanua and its 63-strong crew.

“I’d like to emphasize… that you have accomplished your mission,” he said.

For months on end, the men and women aboard the 2,000-ton Japanese-built ship were in the open seas of Escoda Shoal with their view on the horizon the same except for the shift between day and night, the transition from dry to rainy season, and the constant presence of Chinese vessels nearby.

Lt. Cmdr. Efren Duran, commanding officer of the ship, said they dealt with Chinese ships every single day, monitoring and challenging them.

It was also a difficult task to stretch the food supplies and water that they were provided and more recently, to deal with inclement weather in the open seas, Near the end of the deployment they had to make do with porridge seasoned with salt or go fishing, he added.

Gavan pinned medals on the crew and enjoyed a feast with them over a “boodle fight” with lechon, fish, adobo, and soda drinks after his short speech, saying “I want to spend time with them.”

China’s blockade of Philippine ships attempting to resupply at Escoda Shoal in recent weeks forced the PCG to air drop the supplies using a helicopter on Aug. 28. The last supply run of the PCG using a ship was on July 15.

Strategic role

The Magbanua has been anchored inside the shoal since April 16 in response to the continued presence of Chinese vessels and suspected reclamation activities in the area.

Aug. 31 was the worst yet for the Magbanua after a Chinese coast guard vessel “intentionally and repeatedly” rammed the ship as it lifted anchor “with the intention of loitering” around the shoal. The Magbanua sustained some damage but no one was injured.

The move to replace the Magbanua is likely to irk China as Beijing had demanded the Philippines withdraw the vessel it claimed was “illegally stranded” at the atoll, which it asserts it owns as part of its broader claim to nearly the entire South China Sea.

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Escoda Shoal lies 150 kilometers west of Palawan, well within the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

It is strategically important because it has access to Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal from north or south of Palawan, while Ayungin lies between Escoda and Chinese-occupied Panganiban (Mischief) Reef—a feature within the Philippines’ EEZ that Beijing seized in 1995.

The shoal also serves as a meet-up point for PCG and Philippine Navy vessels conducting resupply missions to Ayungin Shoal, where the Philippine Navy keeps the BRP Sierra Madre, which was deliberately grounded there in 1999 to serve as the country’s outpost.

Wake-up call

Duran, who was teary-eyed while Gavan was giving his remarks, later told reporters they are willing to return to Escoda after getting some rest and the ship undergoes repair and maintenance.

“This is not just for the Philippines but for the entire world. We are implementing international law and we need to defend it,” he pointed out.

Maritime security expert Jay Batongbacal of the University of the Philippines Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea said the recent events at sea should be a wake-up call for other nations “with respect to the reality of China’s aggressive maritime expansion.”

“They are appropriating an entire sea area for themselves, and demonstrating that they constitute a real threat to the freedom of the seas in this strategic region,” he told the Inquirer.

“It’s disappointing that the Magbanua was unable to remain on station, but we also have to keep in mind that its five-month deployment is unprecedented and she stood her ground for as long as she could,” he said.

In a statement on Sunday, Senate Majority Floor Leader Francis Tolentino said “It’s only right that the crew of BRP Teresa Magbanua take a rest and seek medical assistance. We salute their heroism. And the ship also needs repair.”

He also urged the 107,000-strong reservists in the country’s different branches of the military to play an active role in defending and safeguarding the Philippines’ sovereignty. —WITH REPORTS FROM TINA G. SANTOS AND REUTERS INQ