Ben Madilynn
THE National Maritime Council (NMC) vowed on Monday, September 16, 2024, to continue monitoring the situation in Escoda Shoal even after the repositioning of the Philippine Coast Guard’s (PCG) BRP Teresa Magbanua back to Palawan.
In a radio interview, NMC spokesperson Undersecretary Alex Lopez said there is already an existing system to monitor the vast area of Escoda Shoal despite the challenges posed by China’s continuous harassment.
“As of now, meron nang directive ang commandant na magpadala ng kaukulang asset para lang ma-maintain ang monitoring, detection of illegal activities and physical presence natin sa area,” he said.
BRP’s Teresa Magbanua left Escoda Shoal after its five-month deployment there amid the reported reclamation activities of China, which claims almost the entire West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).
Chinese vessels harassed and conducted dangerous maneuvers that prevented Philippine ships from successfully transporting necessary supplies to troops in the PCG vessel.
Lopez said the council decided to pull out the PCG’s largest vessel from the area, taking in consideration the “serious medical condition” of its crew, especially as majority of them are already dehydrated, as well as the lack of enough food and gas.
He said they also considered the need for BRP Teresa Magbanua to undergo a scheduled maintenance check-up and repair especially after it sustained damage, particularly a hole, after it was intentionally hit by a Chinese vessel.
“What broke the camel’s back is the condition ng mga tauhan natin. Hindi katanggap-tanggap na lumala at God forbid baka may mamatay pa sa mga tao natin,” he said.
(What broke the camel’s back is the condition of our staff. It is not acceptable to get worse and God forbid some of our people may die.)
“Hindi tayo kumurap; hindi tayo nag buckle down; hindi tayo naduwag. Umalis tayo doon dahil sa kundisyon ng mga tao natin. Babalik at babalik tayo at pangangalagaan natin ang ating karapatan ang ating claim. We will never buckle down. Hindi tayo aalis doon at magbibigay ni isang kwadrado pulgada ng ating teritoryo ng bansa kahit napakalakas na pwersa. Nasa atin ang batas. We have the moral ascendancy. We have the moral high ground,” he added.
(We didn’t blink; we didn’t buckle down; we didn’t give up. We left there because of the condition of our people. We will return and return and we will protect our right and our claim. We will never buckle down. We will not leave there and give even one square inch of our country’s territory even to very strong forces. We have the law. We have the moral ascendancy. We have the moral high ground.)
In a press conference, PCG spokesperson for West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela maintained that the Philippines have not lost anything following the vessel’s repositioning.
Tariella said Escoda has a total area of 137 square kilometers, which is equal to the combined areas of Manila, Caloocan, Navotas and Malabon.
“As far as the Philippines Coast Guard is concerned, we have not lost anything,” he said.
“Escoda Shoal, no matter how many instances we intend to go there, we will be able to patrol and deploy our vessel,” Tarriela added.
The official assured that the deployment of another Philippine asset in Escoda Shoal will not take any longer. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)
