DFA: No Phl-China deal on ship pullout

There was no agreement between the Philippines and China to withdraw the Philippine Coast Guard’s BRP Teresa Magbanua from Escoda Shoal, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Thursday.

In an ambush interview at the Senate, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo denied the Philippines had agreed to withdraw its vessel from the shoal in favor of China.

“There was no deal. They discussed the issues, but there was no deal,” Manalo said, referring to the recently concluded Bilateral Consultation Mechanism (BCM) meeting between the Philippines and China in Beijing.

To recall, the PCG’s largest and most modern ship left Escoda Shoal last Saturday after five months of a stalemate with a swarm of Chinese vessels, which were suspected of conducting reclamation activities.

The withdrawal of the Philippine vessel came days after the BCM meeting between Manila and Beijing, which was attended by DFA Undersecretary Maria Theresa Lazaro and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong.

The pullout has been criticized by some sectors in the country, who likened it to the 2012 withdrawal of a Philippine ship from Scarborough Shoal that allowed China to take it over.

At this writing, there has been no replacement reported for the BRP Teresa Magbanua at Escoda Shoal.

Rammed thrice

In August, the Teresa Magbanua sustained damage after it was rammed by a China Coast Guard vessel three times. When the vessel docked in Puerto Princesa for repairs, some of its crew were brought down in stretchers, suffering from dehydration and other ailments. The Magbanua crew was reduced to drinking rainwater, according to reports.

Chinese vessels had blocked resupply missions to the Magbanua, as they have done to missions to resupply the Filipino troops stationed on the BRP Sierra Madre at Ayungin Shoal.

Asked about the timing of the withdrawal of the BRP Teresa Magbanua from Escoda Shoal after the BCM, Manalo said it may have been a mere “coincidence.”

“Well, a coincidence might have happened but they did discuss all these issues of concern but there was no deal of any kind,” he said.

Escoda Shoal, also known as Sabina Shoal, is some 75 nautical miles from Palawan and is well within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

UN to hear about it

Manalo said he would assert the country’s territorial sovereignty over the West Philippine Sea at the United Nations General Assembly in New York next week.

“Of course, we are very much involved in the need for security and promoting regional stability, especially in the West Philippine Sea, and of course in other areas,” he said.

Earlier this week, the Presidential Communications Office confirmed that Manalo will represent President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the UNGA.

Heads of state and government are set to gather at UN Headquarters in New York on 22-23 September to address the critical challenges and gaps in global governance exposed by recent global shocks.

The General Assembly aims to reaffirm the commitments of global leaders to the Sustainable Development Goals and the United Nations Charter while enhancing cooperation and laying the foundations for a reinvigorated multilateral system.

China claims nearly the entire South China Sea, which overlaps the West Philippine Sea. A 2016 international arbitral ruling dismissed as baseless China’s territorial claim to all of the SCS, while affirming the Philippines’ 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone in the WPS.

Chinese seagoing vessels, as well as military planes, have figured for years in dangerous maneuvers against Philippine ships and planes in the WPS. Filipino fishermen have also been harassed by the China Navy, Coast Guard and militia vessels.