The Philippine Navy deployed a warship to Escoda (Sabina) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea amid China’s alleged reclamation attempts.

Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad, Navy spokesperson for WPS, said the country’s naval fleet has also increased its maritime patrols, synchronizing the Philippine Coast Guard’s efforts in the area. 

“We were able to monitor the unnatural, unusual presence of crushed corals that—brought an elevation of Sabina or Escoda shoal and the PCG reported this,” he told reporters in an ambush interview in Camp Aguinaldo on Tuesday.

Trinidad noted the PCG’s regular presence in the area. 

“Navy has increased its patrols in Sabina Shoal and for the past good number of days, we have had one warship stationed in the area, this is to ensure that whoever is piling up [dead] corals on Sabina shoal, we will be able to expose their activities,” Trinidad said. 

The navy officer said the Escoda Shoal is much closer to mainland Palawan compared to the Ayungin Shoal, which is 20 nautical miles from the east of Mischief Reef. 

Escoda Shoal, on the other hand, is about 35 nautical miles from Ayungin Shoal, he added. 

“So, it (Escoda) is much much closer to mainland Palawan and well within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines so we would like to ensure that this will remain within the sovereign rights of the country,” Trinidad stressed.

“Hence, the Philippine Coast Guard and Philippine Navy are taking cognizance of that unusual pile-up of dead corals,” he further noted.

In 2012, Trinidad recalled China did the reclamation work in the WPS using giant dredgers to move huge amounts of sand to Mischief, Subic, Cuarteron, and Panganiban reefs in the Spratly Islands—a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea. 

Trinidad said China was able to build military bases in these areas.

“This time around, there was no noticed presence of those dredgers but we saw the result, a lot of crushed corals so as if, that Sabina shoal is growing, so we could say this is one particular attempt to reclaim, to build up an artificial island,” he added. 

Trinidad stressed the Philippines will not allow it to happen again.

“We are on top of the situation. The Coast Guard is there, the Navy is there and we would like to prevent a repeat of what happened in 2012,” he said. 

“We will not allow that reclamation because this area is well within the sovereign rights and sovereignty of the Philippines,” he noted. 

Trinidad said the government’s transparency strategy in the WPS will remain, accompanied by the persistent presence of Philippine vessels in the area.

“I would like to say that the other claimant countries have been subscribing to international law, except for China,” he added.