Dwayne Pelagio

Days after the withdrawal of BRP Teresa Magbanua in the Escoda Shoal, the Philippines deployed Naval and Coast Guard vessels on September 20 to replace it in order to assert its claim against repeated Chinese presence over the area.

Photo Courtesy of GMA Network/Manila Standard.

According to the National Maritime Council (NMC) spokesperson Vice Admiral Alexander Lopez, the replacement vessels were “already there or close to Escoda Shoal.”

He also stated that the Philippines will no longer publicly disclose ship details to avoid aiding China and part of operational adjustments in protecting the waters.

“It’s better to keep them guessing, because if they (Chinese ships) know our destination they will go there, we’re like a magnet. That is our approach, we won’t reveal the location,” Lopez said in a press release. 

“We are adjusting because we all saw how China reacted when we said BRP Teresa Magbanua was anchored there. We made (operational) adjustments,” he added. 

NMC also announced that the deployed assets will be deployed to patrol near Escoda Shoal.

Stanford University’s Sealight Director Ray Powell said that the replacement vessels turned off their Automatic Identification System (AIS) to avoid getting tracked.

‘Rising Chinese action’

Powell also saw Chinese action at Escoda Shoal. 

In a post in his X (formerly Twitter) account, 8 additional Qiong Sansha Yu militia ships were deployed from Mischief Reef to Escoda Shoal, as 2 more deployed to 2nd Thomas (Ayungin) Shoal, and China Coast Guard vessel 5205 seen racing southeast to within 40 nm of Palawan on the morning of September 21, 2024. 

Escoda Shoal, also known as Sabina Shoal, has been a target of numerous Chinese naval activities since April 2024.

With the discovery of crushed corals in the seabed of the territory, the PCG deployed the BRP Teresa Magbanua to investigate the alleged dumping of crushed corals as a preparation for Chinese reclamation activities.

Following repeated maritime violations of the Chinese Coast Guard towards Filipino naval vessels, the BRP Teresa Magbanua was rammed by CCG Vessel 5205, damaging the port bow of the ship.

After the ramming incident, the United States Naval Institute reported on September 14 that the rammed ship was spotted leaving Escoda Shoal by AIS data posted on social media.

Escoda Shoal is a coral reef formation with a shallow lagoon surrounded by discontinuous shallow sections and a rendezvous point for Filipinos going to Ayungin Shoal. It is also a part of the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).