Answering the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr to strengthen and enhance the Philippine Coast Guard’s (PCG) presence and operations within the West Philippine Sea (WPS), PCG Commandant, CG Admiral Artemio M. Abu, has deployed one of many PCG Fleet’s largest maritime belongings, the BRP Teresa Magbanua (MRRV-9701), to the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG). Shortly after its deployment to the KIG on January 28, 2023, the crew of MRRV-9701 boarded Filipino Fishing Boats (FFBs) within the waters in and across the KIG to advise Filipino fishermen and crew to radio PCG or Armed Forces of the Philippines shore models within the space for any wanted help. —photograph from the PCG
MANILA, Philippines — For per week now, the biggest coast guard vessels of the Philippines and China have been in shut proximity to one another at Escoda (Sabina) Shoal.
As neither considered one of them had budged, the Philippine Navy on Tuesday reiterated that the Filipinos received’t be the primary to take action, citing “our previous experiences and present capabilities.”
Nonetheless, Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, the Navy spokesperson on the West Philippine Sea (WPS), refused to name the state of affairs between the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the China Coast Guard (CCG) a “standoff.”
READ: ‘Monster’ vs Magbanua: New supply of pressure
Trinidad stated the BRP Teresa Magbanua, the PCG’s largest and most fashionable vessel, wouldn’t finish its three-month-old mission at Escoda simply due to the arrival on July 3 of CCG vessel 5901.
At one level, the CCG ship, referred to as “The Monster” for being the world’s largest coast guard vessel, got here as shut as 500 yards to the Magbanua.
“We now have our plans, not just for Escoda. All our plans are anchored on all our previous experiences and present capabilities,” Trinidad stated, suggesting a method behind the Magbanua’s resolve to remain put.
Panatag, 2012
It was Trinidad’s response when requested how the Navy would keep away from a repeat of the 2012 standoff over one other shoal—Panatag (Scarborough)—which lasted two months and ended with the Philippines shedding the shoal to Chinese language management.
Often known as Bajo de Masinloc, Panatag has since been off-limits to Filipino fishermen, primarily these from Zambales province, who now face harassment from the Chinese language at any time when they dare enterprise into what was once a part of their conventional fishing grounds.
“There is no such thing as a standoff. No standoff,” Trinidad harassed.
However he stated “We’ll make sure the integrity of our territory. In fact it’s our mandate. Not solely that, however we now have to make sure that what’s ours will stay ours.”
“We now have virtually all of our capital ships already being assigned or doing routine patrols within the West Philippine Sea, not solely due to the ‘Monster’ ship,” he instructed reporters at Camp Aguinaldo. “We won’t hand over that ship (Magbanua). It is a sign of the federal government’s stand. It’s the mandate of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to make sure the integrity of the nationwide territory,” he added.
Dropped anchor
The PCG first famous the arrival of the 12,000-ton CCG ship at Escoda Shoal, saying it dropped anchor there on July 3.
Cmdr. Jay Tarriela, the PCG spokesperson on the West Philippine Sea, then stated the CCG earlier made “intrusive patrols” in different elements of the WPS within the final week of June—significantly at Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal and Panganiban (Mischief) Reef—earlier than going to Escoda to “intimidate” the Magbanua into leaving the world.
In accordance with an replace launched on Tuesday by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, no less than 95 Chinese language vessels have been sighted inside the WPS on July 8 alone. Of the entire, the bulk have been maritime militia vessels that numbered as much as 78.
There are two Chinese language warships additionally seen within the neighborhood of Ayungin, which is positioned some 67 kilometers west of Escoda.
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Escoda, which is about 139 km west of Palawan province, serves because the rendezvous level or staging space for rotation and resupply missions to the grounded BRP Sierra Madre, the Philippine army outpost at Ayungin.
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