OPINION | Why does BRP Teresa Magbanua continue to remain in Sabina Shoal?

June 2, 2024 , 03:21 PM

By Manny Mogato

A Chinese Coast Guard and a militia ship had taken turns circling around a Philippine Coast Guard vessel, BRP Teresa Magbanua, in Escoda Shoal in the West Philippine Sea.

For over a month, the 97-meter-long maritime law enforcement vessel, one of the two largest and most modern ships, has stayed in Escoda Shoal, internationally known as Sabina Shoal.

It has not run aground but has remained in the strategic shoal to stand guard against China’s suspected efforts to reclaim and build another artificial island on the uninhabited feature.

The Philippines discovered evidence of potential reclamation work by China, with fine corals found dumped in Escoda Shoal, a clear indication of environmental damage as China moves closer to Palawan.

Cdre. Jay Tarriela, the Coast Guard’s spokesman for the West Philippine Sea issue, said BRP Teresa Magbanua is waiting for a team of Filipino marine scientists to conduct research and investigate environmental damage around Escoda Shoal.

But China is getting anxious, worried that BRP Teresa Magbana could become another BRP Sierra Madre, which has been stuck at Ayungin Shoal for about 25 years.

A Chinese journalist had even asked Pres. Ferdinand Marcos Jr, after he delivered a speech before the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in Singapore during the annual Shangri-la Dialogue, about Sabina Shoal: Is the Philippines setting up a new outpost in the West Philippine Sea?

China is making a wild guess about Sabina Shoal. Its fears are unfounded.

The Philippines would not waste its new vessel and its largest Coast Guard ship by permanently stationing it in Sabina Shoal.

It is enough for the Philippine Coast Guard to test BRP Teresa Magbanua’s endurance. Technically, the vessel could patrol the West Philippine Sea for two to three weeks before returning to its home port to replenish supplies and refuel. However, it has stayed too long at sea.

The Coast Guard’s smaller vessels — the 44-meter-long Japan-made coastal boats — have been bringing supplies to BRP Teresa Magbanua.

The deployment of BRP Teresa Magbanua in Sabina Shoal is a demonstration of the Philippines’ resolve to defend its sovereign rights. Sabina Shoal is a strategic feature in the West Philippine Sea, a jump point for the Navy’s regular resupply mission to Second Thomas Shoal, or Ayungin Shoal, where a rusting navy transport has been stranded for over two decades. It also guards the country’s maritime zones from further encroachment.

China had been attempting to seize control of Sabina Shoal for years after it occupied Mischief Reef in 1995.
Chinese markers were discovered on Sabina Shoal but were removed by the Philippine Navy patrolling the area. Recently, Chinese militia ships gathered around Sabina Shoal but were driven away by the Philippine Coast Guard.

The 2002 Declaration of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) prohibits new physical occupation and construction of structures in disputed areas in the South China Sea. China has been skirting the informal code of conduct by deploying hundreds of vessels to control certain areas it considers important and strategic.

The Philippines had learned a lesson from its experience in Scarborough Shoal. It will not allow this to happen again in Sabina Shoal. With its limited resources and capabilities, the Philippines is trying to adopt the Chinese strategy.

At the Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr vowed to defend every square inch and millimeter of the country’s territory.

“As President, I have sworn to this solemn commitment from the first day I took office. I do not intend to yield. Filipinos do not yield,” he said.

President Marcos, Jr. said the Philippines had drawn its territorial boundaries based on international rules and abides by the rules-based international order as a responsible member of the global community.

“So, the lines that we draw on our waters are not derived from just our imagination, but from international law,” he declared.

Thus, BRP Teresa Magbanua would remain in Sabina Shoal as long as it wanted and could be replaced by another Coast Guard vessel — probably the BRP Melchora Aquino or the smaller BRP Gabriela Silang. The Philippines cannot afford to lose control of Sabina Shoal. BRP Teresa Magbanua would remain in the uninhabited strategic shoal.

*The views expressed by the columnist do not necessarily reflect that of the media organization.

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