After a Philippine ship returned to port after five months of deployment there, the Philippines ‘ coast guard announced on Monday ( 16 ) that it would continue to deploy ships.
” We will support existence over these waterways”, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Spokesperson Jay Tarriela told a press conference.
The PCG’s vehicle, Teresa Magbanua, was deployed to Sabina Shoal in April to observe what Manila suspects to become China’s small-scale area restoration activities in the area. It returned to dock on Sunday.
Tarriela claimed that the ship’s returning was intended to be repaired and to meet the crew’s health needs rather than China’s request for Manila to withdraw its ship.
West of the Philippine state of Palawan, in the government’s exclusive economic zone, is located Sabina Shoal, which China refers to as Xianbin Reef and the Philippines as the Escoda Shoal.
” Regardless of what length of vehicle, regardless of how many vessels, the main goal and the responsibility of the (PCG) captain… is to make sure that at any one day, there will be a beach watch appearance in the shoal”, Tarriela said.
China’s beach watch announced on Sunday that it would continue to carry out law enforcement operations in the waters under Beijing’s jurisdiction in accordance with the law and protect its regional autonomy and maritime rights and interests.
China claims autonomy over most of the South China Sea, overlapping into maritime areas of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
In 2016 the Hague mediation judge voided China’s wide and traditional says, a choice Beijing rejects.