A VESSEL of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) is now in the vicinity of Escoda Shoal in the West Philippine Sea, re-establishing Philippine physical presence in the feature which is being swarmed by Chinese vessels, the National Security Council (NSC) said yesterday.

NSC Assistant Director General and spokesman Jonathan Malaya did not say when the replacement vessel arrived at the shoal but said it is already conducting patrols at the shoal, about 70 nautical miles from mainland Palawan and well within the country’s 200 nautical miles exclusive economic zone.

The vessel, which Malaya did not name, took the place of BRP Teresa Magbanua which pulled out of Escoda Shoal, which is also known as Sabina Shoal, on September 14 due to several reasons, primarily bad weather condition.

BRP Teresa Magbanua was sent to Escoda Shoal in April after authorities discovered a pileup of crushed corals in the area, which they said is an indication of small-scale reclamation.

On Friday last week, National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said a replacement vessel has been dispatched to the shoal but it had to take shelter due to bad weather. He said the vessel will proceed to the area once the weather condition improves.

“There is already a Philippine Coast Guard vessel patrolling Escoda Shoal,” Malaya told a radio interview yesterday.

Malaya reiterated the government has not surrendered Escoda Shoal to the Chinese. China claims the shoal, which it calls Xianbin Jiao, as part of its territory.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea which is being claimed in part by the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam.

“What the Philippine Coast Guard is doing is guard (the shoal), ensure there will be no reclamations, ensure there are no illegal activities happening at Escoda Shoal, and for us to be able to maintain presence,” said Malaya.

“We have a replacement for Teresa Magbanua and is now guarding and conducting patrols at Escoda Shoal,” said Malaya.

Malaya declined to say the specific location of the replacement vessel for “operational security.”

“But we can assure the Filipino people that we did not surrender Escoda Shoal,” he said.

SCARBOROUGH

Malaya said the NSC has assured fishermen in Zambales government will enhance presence at Scarborough Shoal, about 124 nautical miles from the province. The shoal has been under Chinese control since 2012 after a standoff with Philippine government vessels.

The Philippine Navy has monitored seven Chinese maritime militia vessels, two Chinese Navy ships, two Chinese Coast Guard vessels, and a research vessel in the area from September 17 to 23.

Malaya said they gave the assurance to the fishermen during a fisherfolk congress held at the Subic Municipal Gymnasium in Subic, Zambales last September 24. The event was attended by some 150 fishermen.

During the event, the fishermen raised some concerns and sought government assistance, including provision of additional “payaos” or fishing aggregates, and support boats so they can maximize the use of a mother boat given by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

Malaya said some of the fishermen reported that Chinese were driving them away some 20 nautical miles away from the shoal.

“Some are saying they are not driven away and are able to freely fish. Some said they get as near as 200 meters to 300 meters away from Scarborough… This shows that they are not always blocked,,” said Malaya.

“The commitment given by the national government is we will step up rotational presence (in the area). This means BFAR will have constant presence there,” he said adding that if a BFAR vessel needs to leave the shoal, a PCG ship will come in as replacement.

Malaya said there will always be a government vessel in the area to secure Filipino fishermen.

During the fisherfolk congress, Malaya said the Department of Social Welfare and Development distributed P10,000 in financial assistance to each of the fishermen.

DEFENSE

Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri yesterday said he is in favor of the continued stay of the US’ Typhon missile system in the country as it will serve as the country’s defense against foreign intrusion, especially amid China’s aggressive behavior in the West Philippine Sea.

“So, at this point in time, with due respect to our neighbor in China, as long as they do not stop the provocative nature, actions they are doing in the West Philippine Sea, I am in favor of retaining defensive weapons system in the Philippines as a deterrent to any future provocative action,” Zubiri said at the Kapihan sa Senado media forum.

He said the Typhon missile system should be the country’s defense while China is very aggressive in the WPS, citing reports that Beijing’s research vessel was sighted some 25 nautical miles from mainland Philippines.

He said China’s action is illegal as it “could have led to a mis-encounter.”

“China did not ask permission from the government. At least it should have coordinated with our officials. That could have led to a mis-encounter, to a very dangerous and tense situation in the West Philippine Sea),” he said in mixed Filipino and English.

He also said China has no right to protest the presence of the Typhon missile system in the country.

“So, we’ll just tell them: Stop harassing us. Can’t we live peacefully in the West Philippine Sea? Can’t we co-exist? Can’t we patrol our own exclusive economic zone granted to us by the arbitral ruling of the UN (United Nations)? Until they stop their provocative actions, we should welcome assistance from our allies,” he said.

Zubiri said while Japan’s donation of a radar system to the country is good to detect intrusions, but it is not enough to stop or at least drive away intruders.

He urged the government to invest in these kinds of defense systems, and this is the he is appealing to his colleagues to pour additional funds to the AFP Modernization Program after the defense department said that the Department of Budget and Management has approved only P75 billion for the program when it was asking for P245 billion in its proposed budget for 2025. – With Raymond Africa