On August 26, the Chinese Coast Guard ship (background left and right) passed the Philippine Coast Guard ship BRP Cape Engano (middle). The photo was taken on August 26 from the BRP during a supply mission in the Sabina Shoal in the disputed waters of the South China Sea. Photo taken by Cabra, 2024.
Sta Rosa clock Sta Rosa clock | AFP | Getty Images
The Philippines will continue to deploy ships to the disputed Sabina Shoal in the South China Sea, the Coast Guard said on Monday, after a Philippine vessel returned to port after five months in the area.
“We will maintain a presence in these waters,” Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Jay Talila told a news conference.
PCG's vessel Teresa Magbanua deployed to Sabina Shoal in April to monitor small-scale reclamation activities that Manila suspected China was undertaking in the area. It returned to port on Sunday.
Talila said the ship's return had nothing to do with China Require Instead, the Philippines asked Manila to withdraw its ship so it could be repaired and the crew's medical needs could be attended to. Sabina Shoal (called Xianbin Reef in China and Escoda Shoal in the Philippines) is located west of Palawan Province in the Philippines and belongs to the country's exclusive economic zone.
“Regardless of the size of the vessel, no matter how many vessels there are, the main goal and commitment of the (PCG) commander … is to ensure that at all times, there is a Coast Guard presence on the shoal,” Taliera said.
The China Coast Guard said on Sunday it would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters under Beijing's jurisdiction in accordance with the law to safeguard the country's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.
China claims sovereignty over much of the South China Sea, which overlaps with those of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
In 2016, an arbitral tribunal in The Hague invalidated China's extensive and historic claims, but Beijing refused to accept the ruling.