THE military yesterday said China is not in control of Escoda Shoal, also known as Sabina Shoal, despite the presence of Chinese vessels and pullout of the lone Philippine government vessel from the area.
Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, Navy spokesman for the West Philippine Sea, assured the public the military is safeguarding the country’s territorial integrity.
The shoal is about 72 nautical miles from mainland Palawan and well within the country’s 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone.
Trinidad made the remarks after the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) withdrew its vessel, BRP Teresa Magbanua, from the area last Saturday due to bad weather.
The PCG has also cited three other reasons for pulling out the ship — dwindling supplies, need to treat sick crew members and damage the vessel incurred when it was harassed by the Chinese Coast Guard last August 31.
“They (Chinese) have never been in control,” Trinidad said in a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo, adding the large number of Chinese ships currently in the area will not deter the Armed Forces from performing its mandate.
He also said “guidance” from higher authorities is for the Armed Forces not to let up on operations “not only in Escoda, Ayungin (Shoal) but all over the expanse of the West Philippine Sea.”
‘CONTINGENCIES’
Trinidad declined to answer questions as to the impact on the country’s security if the Chinese gain control of the shoal. “I would not like to speculate on that. Nevertheless, we are prepared, we have our contingency plans,” he said.
He said the military will “continue performing its mandate,” adding “we have increased the presence of our aircraft and capital ships all over the expanse of the West Philippine Sea in accordance with the (AFP’s) Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept.”
Asked if the pullout of BRP Teresa Magbanua may lead to an incident similar to that at Scarborough Shoal, Trinidad said, “Again, we do not speculate on possible future activities but we are prepared for any eventuality.”
China gained control of Scarborough Shoal, also known as Bajo de Masinloc, in 2012 after the pullout of PCG vessels from the area. Since then, the Chinese have prevented Filipinos from fishing inside the shoal’s lagoon.
Trinidad the said the military is maintaining its presence at Escoda Shoal through monitoring.
“There are a range of different capabilities that are sea-based, air-based, or space-based that we are developing in conjunction with our partners and allies to be able to monitor not only Escoda but the entire West Philippine Sea,” he said.
Trinidad assured the Filipino people that the Western Command (Westcom) and the Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) are “in charge of the overall situation” in the West Philippine Sea.
“There are contingencies in place for Westcom or Nolcom for that matter to compensate for the absence of one,” said Trinidad, referring to the PCG vessel that left Escoda shoal.
Citing the Navy’s monitoring, Trinidad said there are 65 Chinese vessels at Escoda Shoal as of yesterday — 52 maritime militia, nine Coast Guard, and four PLA (People’s Liberation Army) Navy.
He said the number actually decreased, from 68 last week.
National Maritime Council spokesman Alexander Lopez earlier said a vessel was on the way to the shoal to replace BRP Teresa Magbanua.
Trinidad, asked if there a government ship is at the shoal yesterday, said, “I will have to check with Western Command.”
“Our patrols have increased not only in Escoda but over the entire West Philippine Sea,” he nevertheless said.
ANOTHER CASE
Retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio renewed his call for the government to file another arbitration case against China to jolt it into dialing down its aggression in the West Philippine Sea.
He said filing a second arbitration case would further shed light on China’s aggressive activities in the area and may eventually bury its claim of historic rights to nearly the entire South China Sea.
The first case was filed in 2013 by the Aquino administration. In a 2016 ruling, the Permanent Court of Arbitration junked China’s sweeping claims in the disputed waters, saying that its so-called nine dash line has no legal or historical basis. But Beijing refused to honor or abide by the ruling and continue to insist that nearly the entire South China Sea is theirs.
A second arbitration case, Carpio said, would also enable Manila to claim for compensation from the damage wrought by Chinese vessels as well as prevent further aggression.
“The rule is once the arbitral case is filed, the parties should not aggravate the dispute. And if they continue to ram our vessels, that will be a disrespect to the tribunal, and the tribunal will be hard on China,” Carpio told ABS-CBN News Channel.
“We are running out of options. If we continue this way, we will run out of our vessels, they will all be rammed,” he added.
Beijing has a huge fleet of coast guard vessels backed up by a sizable maritime militia, while Manila’s coast guard has only three large offshore patrol vessels, including the 97-meter long Teresa Magbanua, and 10-44 meter multi-role response vessels.
The retired magistrate, who was also instrumental in the first arbitration case against China, said the country’s response should not only be limited to engaging Beijing diplomatically, including the filing of diplomatic protests, but that it should include others in the face of the latter’s unwavering claim in the West Philippine Sea.
“The government should use all the possible means of defending our maritime zones, including the filing of a new arbitration case,” Carpio said, adding that China is afraid that if another arbitration case is filed challenging its massive claim and an award is handed down in favor of the Philippines, it “will bury forever” it’s claim to South China Sea.
The United States, United Kingdom, Japan, European Union, Australia, France, Canada and Germany have condemned China’s aggression in the area, with Washington explicitly reminding China of its commitment under the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty to come to the aid of the Philippines during armed attacks.
China, however, defended its actions and blamed the Philippines for incidents in the West Philippine Sea – the part of the South China Sea within the Philippines’ 200-mile exclusive economic zone and continental shelf – and has claimed that the country is acting on behalf of the United States and other Western countries. — With Ashzel Hachero
