Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessel, the BRP Teresa Magbanua, has left Sabina Shoal in the South China Sea, where it has been stationed for several months in asserting Philippine sovereignty over the area. Since April, the vessel was anchored at the location and returned to the depot for the crew’s medical issues and work on the rig.
Other Philippine officials said that another vessel would immediately be deployed to replace the Teresa Magbanua, thus maintaining a formation in the location. This action would definitely provoke China.
Beijing has insisted that it has ‘indisputable sovereignty’ over Sabina Shoal and sovereignty over 90 percent of the South China Sea. Some of these include the Philippines, which, with the help of an international tribunal, ruled against China and declared that its claims lack legal validity, most notably in 2016.
There were recent confrontations between Philippine and Chinese vessels in the near shoal in which there were several cases of collision, in which Teresa Magbanua was damaged through what was described as a deliberate ramming by the Chinese Coast Guard. There is a deliberate taking of actions that lead to a breakdown of smooth communication between two parties, like when Chinese vessels surrounded the supply ship dealing with the crew, and this only led to a lack of food and other essentials.
The situation can be compared to previous incidents in the Sea of Azov, reminding about tensions in the South China Sea as the Philippines claimed constant harassment of its ships by China.
