After Monday’s ramming of a Philippine Coast Guard vessel at Escoda (Sabina) Shoal, concerns over China’s sincerity in keeping regional tensions down shift back to Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, site of the rusting Philippine military outpost, the BRP Sierra Madre. —NIÑO JESUS ORBETA
MANILA, Philippines — The biggest number of Chinese warships to date have been observed in Escoda (Sabina) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea, just over a week after the Philippine Coast Guard pulled out its vessel BRP Teresa Magbanua.
A total of 11 People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) were seen in the area from Sept. 17 to 23, Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, said on Tuesday.
“This is the first time we have monitored that number [of PLA-N warships] in Sabina,” Trinidad said in a press conference.
Despite this, Trinidad maintained that China does not have a de facto control of the area.
READ: West PH Sea: BRP Teresa Magbanua arrives in Palawan with sick crew
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“No. We continue to perform our mandate patrolling by sea and by air, not only in Escoda but in the entire West Philippine Sea,” Trinidad said when asked if the surge of warships meant that China does have de facto control of the shoal.
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Aside from the PLA-N fleet, 16 China Coast Guard (CCG) ships and 55 Chinese maritime militia vessels were monitored in the area within the said period.
Also, a total of 251 Chinese coast guard ships, warships and maritime militia vessels were monitored in the West Philippine Sea from Sept. 17 to 23, which is the biggest total so far.
READ: PCG: Replacement ship for Escoda Shoal patrol on the way
After more than five months, the BRP Teresa Magbanua departed Escoda Shoal and arrived at port in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, on September 15. The ship returned with four dehydrated crew members who had subsisted on rice porridge and rainwater for weeks, as the China Coast Guard (CCG) blocked the delivery of supplies.
Escoda Shoal serves as the rendezvous point for Filipino vessels conducting resupply missions to the naval outpost in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, where the BRP Sierra Madre, a key flashpoint of tensions between Manila and Beijing, has been grounded since 1999.
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