China blocks Philippines resupply mission to Escoda Shoal

MANILA, Philippines — China Coast Guard (CCG) and naval ships blocked two Philippine vessels near Escoda Shoal that were on their way to deliver supplies to BRP Teresa Magbanua, stationed in the area since April to stave off reclamation attempts by the Chinese.

The Chinese embassy released a report from Chinese state media Xinhua stating that the “CCG has taken lawful measures” against the Philippine vessels for “intruding” into Escoda (Sabina) Shoal, which China calls Xianbin Jiao.

Prevented from reaching Teresa Magbanua were BRP Cape Engaño and BRP Cabra.

Former Senate president Juan Miguel Zubiri called China’s action “treachery, plain and simple.”

“China has been repeatedly displaying its rudeness. It has once again reneged on its word to refrain from launching attacks such as what happened yesterday to the Datu Sanday vessel of the BFAR (Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources),” Zubiri said.

Last Sunday, the BRP Datu Sanday of BFAR was rammed by two CCG vessels and blasted with “jet stream” water by two other CCG ships, while being blocked by a Chinese maritime militia vessel near Escoda Shoal.

Despite sustaining damage after being rammed by CCG ships last week near Lawak and Patag Islands, the Cape Engaño was still included in the mission to resupply Teresa Magbanua.

“What’s even more infuriating is that China doesn’t seem to consider anything. It was not the Navy or Coast Guard that they attacked, but BFAR, which was only on a humanitarian mission to deliver help to our fishermen. This is in total disregard of international maritime laws,” Zubiri said.

“With China’s new attack on our patrol in our own territory, how can we trust them with future agreements if they continue breaking what had been formally agreed upon?”

He said the Chinese can’t even show “simple decency.”

“We condemn this latest act of aggression displayed by China and protest their actions on Philippine territory. We ask the national government to continue fighting for our sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea and uphold our territorial integrity and our right to our exclusive economic zone,” he added.

He also thanked BFAR personnel for their courage in the face of Chinese aggression: “We are with you in the good fight to secure our waters and protect our fisherfolk in the West Philippine Sea.”

The National Task Force of the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) said Datu Sanday encountered aggressive and dangerous maneuvers by China maritime vessels while operating from Hasa-Hasa (Half Moon) Shoal to Escoda Shoal.

The NTF-WPS said Datu Sanday was targeted by the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) ship 626 and multiple CCG ships, disrupting the humanitarian mission.

“The Philippine government deplores the repeated aggressive, unprofessional and illegal actions displayed by Chinese maritime forces against Philippine vessels and aircraft over the past week,” the Philippines’ National Maritime Council said in a statement yesterday.

South Korea airs concern

South Korea expressed concern over the latest maritime incidents.

In a statement yesterday, the South Korean embassy under Ambassador Lee Sang-hwa expressed its “concern over the recent escalation of tensions in and above the South China Sea, which has jeopardized the safety of the Philippine personnel on board.”

“We reaffirm our support for peace, stability, safety and a rules-based order in the South China Sea, emphasizing the importance of freedom of navigation and overflight in accordance with international law, including UNCLOS,” the statement declared.

Blocked

For more than a week now, the CCG has been preventing Filipino supply vessels from reaching the Teresa Magbanua in Escoda Shoal, PCG Commodore Jay Tarriela said yesterday.

“Unfortunately, we’ve been attempting for almost more than a week to resupply but they have always been hampered and prevented by the China coast guard,” Tarriela said over dzBB. Aside from PCG ships, BFAR vessels were also involved in the resupply missions to Teresa Magbanua.

The 97-meter patrol vessel Teresa Magbanua has been deployed since April in Escoda Shoal, some 110 nautical miles from the coast of Palawan and well within the country’s 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

It was deployed in the area after marine science researchers from the University of the Philippines reported their discovery of crushed corals, indicating reclamation work in early stages, apparently by the Chinese.

China even protested the presence of Teresa Magbanua, “illegally anchored” in the area and sent its “monster ship” in a show of force.

Tarriela said supply runs in Escoda Shoal were mostly for Filipino fishermen, in the form of fuel subsidies, to encourage them to continue doing their trade in the area.

“We encourage them in the form of fuel subsidy, and whenever we see them in the West Philippine Sea we give them fuel and they’re also supporting the government in exercising our sovereign rights, that we have the right to extract all resources,” he said.

In a post on X, Tarriela also condemned last Sunday’s “unprofessional, aggressive and illegal actions” by the Chinese in Escoda Shoal.

“It is (China) that is trespassing in our exclusive economic zone. Escoda Shoal is located within our EEZ, while your claim to Xianbin Jao exists only in the imagination of the Chinese Communist Party,” he said.

Datu Sanday was sailing back to Bataan to undergo damage checks, he said.

For the Department of National Defense, the Philippines should strengthen its capabilities to deter armed attacks and anticipate more illegal acts by China.

Asked in a chance interview in Taguig whether the Philippines and its treaty ally the US need to agree on what can be considered as an armed attack, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. replied: “You know, that is putting the cart before the horse. Let us deter an armed attack. That is the more important thing here, that is what I am focused on doing.”

“Everybody is too focused on armed attack. Let us make ourselves strong enough so that does not happen,” he added.

US officials have given assurances that an armed attack on Philippine armed forces, public vessels or aircraft in the Pacific, including in the South China Sea, would invoke Washington’s treaty commitments.

Teodoro said the Philippines should anticipate such moves from China, whose maritime claim that covers practically the entire South China Sea was voided by an international arbitral court in 2016.

“We expect this kind of behavior from China because this is a struggle. We have to be ready to anticipate and to get used to these kinds of acts of China which are patently – we have been saying this repeatedly – illegal but they do not care,” the defense chief said.

Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said President Marcos’ order for agencies not to give up “even a square centimeter” of Philippine territory still stands.

Brawner said the military’s operations in the West Philippine Sea form part of its obligations and are in line with international law.

“We follow the law. Other countries like China do not follow the law, they insist that the area is theirs. But the ruling in 2016 states that the area is not theirs. That is why we have to assert really our sovereignty and our sovereign rights,” the military chief said. — Alexis Romero, Sheila Crisostomo, Jose Rodel Clapano