More China boats at shoal; PH ‘to keep them guessing’

MANILA, Philippines — China deployed eight more maritime militia vessels to Escoda (Sabina) Shoal on Saturday, according to a US maritime expert, while a government spokesperson said that Manila would no longer publicly disclose details of the movement of its ships following the departure of a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessel from the reef last week.

In a post on X, Ray Powell, the director of SeaLight, a program of Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation that tracks Chinese activities in the West Philippine Sea, said eight Qiong Sansha Yu militia ships were deployed from Panganiban (Mischief) Reef to Escoda.

Powell said that two Chinese militia ships had also been deployed to Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal.

READ: BRP Teresa Magbanua’s return from West PH Sea ‘not a withdrawal’ – NMC

He said that a China Coast Guard (CCG) ship with bow number 5205 was also spotted 74 kilometers southwest of Palawan Island.

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“What generated this sudden activity is unclear,” Powell said.

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The retired US Air Force colonel earlier told the Inquirer that Qiong Sansha Yu are China’s professional militia ships.

‘Operational adjustments’

“They are identified as fishing ships but they really never fish. They are essentially paramilitary vessels,” he said.

According to the Armed Forces of the Philippines, nine CCG vessels, four Chinese warships and 52 maritime militia vessels were swarming Escoda on Sept. 16, two days after the PCG’s BRP Teresa Magbanua left the shoal after nearly five months of deployment.

Escoda, about 139 km west of Palawan province, has become the latest flashpoint in the maritime dispute between the Philippines and China.

Alexander Lopez, spokesperson for the National Maritime Council (NMC), said another vessel had already been sent to replace the Magbanua at Escoda, but he declined to say whether it was a coast guard or a Philippine Navy ship.

Lopez refused to disclose the location of the ship, saying only that it was “already there or close to Escoda Shoal” and that it was not yet experiencing any harassment from the Chinese.

“The important thing is that the ship has sailed and is conducting its mission of maritime patrol and to get information and document whatever illegal activities are there,” he said.

The Philippines has a “presence” at Escoda through a “combination of assets” of the PCG and the AFP, Lopez said.

Lopez said the government would no longer divulge details of deployments to the West Philippine Sea as part of “operational adjustments” in protecting the disputed waters.

“We are adjusting because we all saw how China reacted when we said BRP Teresa Magbanua was anchored there. We made operational adjustments,” he said.

The NMC spokesperson said these changes were among the lessons learned from past public disclosures of details of PCG and military deployment in the West Philippine Sea when the government was “telegraphing what cards we have.”

Weather factor

“So as part of operational security, we will keep these details close to our chest as much as possible. Otherwise, the enemy will know how to counter us,” Lopez said, adding that such details are “better left unsaid” to “keep them guessing.”

“If they know where our ships are, they will go there. It’s as if we’re a magnet. That is now our approach, as much as possible, not to reveal where our ships are. The important thing is we are able to cover not only Escoda Shoal or Ayungin Shoal, but we are covering the whole of the West Philippine Sea,” Lopez said.

A day earlier, National Security Adviser Eduardo Año told reporters that the PCG had sent a replacement vessel to Escoda, but it had to take shelter due to the bad weather. He did not disclose the type of ship sent by the coast guard.

He said the Philippines will “always make sure” it had access and a constant presence at Escoda and other areas in the West Philippine Sea.

The AFP reported that 10 CCG vessels and seven maritime militia ships were spotted at Ayungin where the BRP Sierra Madre was deliberately grounded to serve as a military outpost in 1999.

Escoda had served as the meeting point for government vessels deployed for rotation and resupply missions to troops at the Sierra Madre.

Endangered crew

In April this year, the Philippines sent the Magbanua to Escoda in response to reported Chinese reclamation in the area.

But after a five-month deployment, the ship was called back to port on Sept. 14 for repairs from the damage it sustained after repeated ramming by CCG vessels two weeks earlier.

Its supplies had been cut off by a Chinese blockade, endangering the health of its crew, who were forced to subsist on “lugaw” (rice porridge) for three weeks and on water dripping from the ship’s air conditioning unit.

On Aug. 19, CCG vessels rammed the PCG’s BRP Bagacay and BRP Cape Engaño near Escoda. The Chinese also rammed and fired water cannons at the BRP Datu Sanday of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources six days later near the shoal.

A day after, Chinese ships also blocked and surrounded two PCG ships on a resupply mission to the Magbanua.

The Magbanua is one of two 97-meter ships of the PCG, the biggest vessels in the coast guard fleet. The other is the Melchora Aquino. Both were made in Japan.

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