‘Philippines did not give up Escoda’

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is not giving up Escoda Shoal.

Another Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ship is on its way to replace the BRP Teresa Magbanua, whose departure from the area has fanned speculations that the country has given up the land feature being claimed by China.

“Definitely, another coast guard vessel will be – actually, as we speak – is on its way. As to what kind of vessel, I cannot divulge that information,” National Maritime Council (NMC) spokesman Alexander Lopez told ANC yesterday.

He stressed that the return of Teresa Magbanua to its homeport in Palawan on Sunday was intended mainly to allow some of its crew to undergo medical checkup and treatment.

In an interview at Malacañang also yesterday, Lopez said President Marcos’ instruction is for the PCG or the Navy to maintain presence in the reef, known internationally as Sabina Shoal.

The shoal is located 75 nautical miles from the coastline of Palawan and is within the Philippines’ 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

“We don’t give up anything. Even though Teresa Magbanua left (Escoda), it did not diminish our presence there because there is another way to
 monitor, cover the area,” he said in Filipino.

“When you say presence, that’s strategic presence, not just physical presence,” Lopez added.

Strategic presence does not mean deployment of more than one ship in Escoda Shoal, which is as big as the combined area of Manila, Navotas, Malabon and Caloocan, Lopez said.

“That area is too big. What we need to do is monitor. What we need to do is come up with a good maritime domain awareness, meaning a good picture of what’s happening at the West Philippine Sea, not only in Escoda, but the whole of the West Philippine Sea,” he said.

Some quarters were claiming that by pulling out the Teresa Magbanua from Escoda, the Philippines had “blinked” in its stare-down with China over the land feature.

“We didn’t blink… We were not cowed. We left the area because of the condition of our crew,” Lopez said in another interview with radio dzBB.

Teresa Magbanua, PCG’s biggest and most modern ship, had been stationed in Escoda Shoal since April. It rushed to the shoal following reports that the Chinese were preparing to build an artificial island in the area.

Not another Panatag

The NMC spokesman also reiterated the government would not allow any Chinese ships to take control over Escoda Shoal just like what happened in 2012 in Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, which the Chinese occupied after Philippine vessels left.

Both Philippine and Chinese vessels were supposed to leave the area as part an agreement to end a standoff, which began when a Philippine Navy ship stopped Chinese poachers from leaving with their illegal catch of baby sharks and giant clams.

“Well, Scarborough Shoal is a lesson learned on our part. That’s why, we will, our government will ensure that there will be no Scarborough Shoal Part 2 that will happen,” Lopez told ANC.

“And that’s the position of our government, that’s the position of our President – that not even a single square inch should be abandoned, even to a superpower,” he said.

Panatag Shoal is located 124 nautical miles off the municipality of Masinloc in Zambales.

In a statement on Sunday, NMC chairman Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said the repositioning would allow the Teresa Magbanua to address the medical needs of some of her crew, undergo repairs and allow the crew to enjoy a well-deserved furlough and reunion with their loved ones.

“After she has been resupplied and repaired and her crew recharged, she will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission, along with other PCG and AFP assets, as defenders of our sovereignty,” Bersamin said.

PCG spokesman for WPS issue Commodore Jay Tarriela also emphasized Teresa Magbanua’s return to port was not an abandonment of Escoda.

“We have not lost anything. We will still maintain our presence and continue patrolling Escoda Shoal anytime we like,” Tarriela said.

He noted the deplorable condition of the ship’s crew, due to difficulty of Philippine resupply vessels in evading Chinese blocking efforts.

“For more than one month, their water came from rainwater. They even used water drained from air conditioners (of BRP Teresa Magbanua), they just boiled it so they could drink it,” he said.

He also declined to reveal to reporters which PCG vessel would take over Teresa Magbanua’s Escoda operation.

“We have not lost, abandoned anything. It is not defeat, it is not the PCG abandoning our post in Escoda Shoal,” he said, when asked if the vessel’s departure from Escoda could be likened to the 2012 Panatag incident.

Tarriela said the PCG also observed only 11 Chinese vessels around Escoda Shoal lately, all maritime militia vessels. He said bad weather may have forced the Chinese to withdraw from the area.

US intervene if

Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. said in an interview on CBS News’ “60 Minutes” that he expects the US to intervene if the Chinese would try to remove the BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin Shoal.

“If China were to take the Sierra Madre, that is a clear act of war on a Philippine vessel,” Teodoro said.

When asked about possible US intervention, he said, “We will react and naturally we would expect it.”

“There are people in there and that is an outpost of Philippine sovereignty. So we are not talking about a rusty old vessel. So we are talking about a piece of Philippine territory there,” Teodoro added.

He confirmed ongoing discussion between Washington and Manila on scenarios that would trigger US involvement.

The US has repeatedly warned China that Washington is obliged to defend the Philippines under the 1951 US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT).

In response, Beijing warned that the US missile system set up in Northern Luzon can trigger a regional arms race.

“That’s what they always say. Everything the world does that they don’t like is the fault of the world,” Teodoro said of China’s warning.

He admitted there are no clear indications of China leaving Philippine waters, but he vowed not letting Beijing “get away with it.”

“I really don’t know the end state. All I know is that we cannot let them get away with what they’re doing,” Teodoro stated.

Attack on Sierra Madre?

For a security analyst, it is not a farfetched idea for China to sink Philippine ships, including the Teresa Magbanua and the Sierra Madre, as part of its increasing aggressive actions in the West Philippine Sea.

“That’s a military victory for China if they could sink BRP Teresa Magbanua. Because their end goal is to reduce our resupply missions,” Chester Cabalza, founding president of the International Development and Security Cooperation, told “Storycon” on One News yesterday.

“And the next thing to do is to sink BRP Sierra Madre … you see that kind of logic. But of course, it’s not an easy game for China,” he added.

While a possibility, Cabalza underscored the consequences of such actions, particularly the response of the international community.

“We have a strong law fare, the legal approach,” he said, referring to the 2016 arbitration that invalidated China’s expansive claim in South China Sea.

“Their (China) strategy is the use of violence, ramming and crashing, because they really have a weak narrative … weak legal claims in the West Philippine Sea,” he added.

Cabalza said the situation in Escoda is different from what happened in Panatag Shoal during the standoff in 2012. Escoda, he said, has multiple entry points, which would make it difficult for China to block access.

“This is just Round 1. It will not end there,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Philippines received a donation of 735 maps produced by the US Army Map Service with geographic details on many of the reefs and shoals in the archipelago.

The Philippine consulate general in Chicago, led by consul general Susana Paez, received the donation from Augustana College on Sept. 9.

The maps, produced in the 1940s, were personally delivered and handed over by Norman Moline, professor emeritus of geography at Augustana College in Illinois, and formalized through a deed of donation signed by the college’s vice president for finance and administration Kirk Anderson. — Janvic Mateo, Pia Lee-Brago, Ghio Ong