More than a junk ship
At the edge of the country’s border lies the Barko ng Republika ng Pilipinas Sierra Madre which is now the pantheon of sovereignty on the Ayungin Shoal.
The purposely marooned vessel, a US-made World War II landing ship, is now at the center of worsening territorial friction between the Philippines and China.
It is manned by a detachment of Philippine Marines who are supplied periodically with their basic needs. The so-called rotation and resupply missions were the source of skirmishes that resulted in broken hulls and washed-out decks but these clashes resulted in the loss of a finger of a Philippine Navy soldier.
For over 25 years, the weather-worn vessel has stood its ground to serve the national interest. It remains a commissioned vessel in recognition of its service to the country.
Vice Admiral Eduardo Santos who was the Philippine Navy (PN) chief who ordered the grounding of the sea craft on Ayungin Shoal amid the intensifying territorial rift recounted in an interview the clandestine mission.
“I did it as quietly as I could, so I would not raise any complaints,” Santos said.
He recounted that the day after the boat was beached, the Chinese ambassador knocked at his office early in the morning to inquire about the incident.
“I said, ‘Well, it was supposed to be on the way to a mission, and it ran aground,’” Santos recalled his discussion with the diplomat.
If the shoal had been left unoccupied, it would have been lost to Beijing as Santos said the situation then had China starting to build structures on the West Philippine Sea in what the Navy officer called a “creeping invasion” of China.
Beijing had seized Mischief Reef, an atoll that is 21 nautical miles away, clearly within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Santos who is now the president of the Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific, said the vessel should be rehabilitated as it stands as the last hurdle to Chinese plans to occupy the Shoal.
Santos said the country and its allies must protect freedom of navigation in the area surrounding the Spratlys because every year, an estimated $5 trillion worth of cargo is carried by ship through the crucial ocean corridor.
He emphasized, “While Ayungin and other areas near the Spratlys are considered dangerous ground for navigation, because of the shallow waters there, a sea lane directly to the west is where valuable cargo passes going to and from different countries. No single country must be in the position to exert complete control over that sea lane. Imagine the economic impact if the ability to freely ship cargo is impeded.”
Santos expressed worry that the involvement of People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy ships has changed the complexion of the confrontations near the Ayungin Shoal.
“This (involvement of the PLA Navy) is really an escalation that our leaders must seriously take into consideration. The government should come up with an appropriate response to the growing use of force. I don’t want to be in their shoes… but we must not lose sight of the fact that our government has already submitted around 500 diplomatic protests (against China) with no apparent effect,” he said.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the Philippines and China had agreed on a protocol for provisioning missions for BRP Sierra Madre to prevent the recurring of the 17 June violent faceoff.
The agency, however, did not provide details of the arrangement.
Beijing’s recent aggressiveness is fueled by a realization that the Philippines’ military capabilities are quickly growing and that Manila and its allies might be planning on establishing a stronger naval presence in the WPS, Santos mused.
BRP Sierra Madre is the modern-day symbol of the Filipinos’ strange character, combining patience and defiance which was ingrained in the common psyche after more than 400 years of foreign domination.
