Aquino III lost Scarborough in 2012; Marcos likely to lose Escoda now
UNREPORTED both by our government and that of China is the fact that there is an ongoing standoff at Escoda (Sabina) Shoal between the coast guard vessels of the two countries, each insisting that its nation owns the area, with their presence there indicating their determination to hold on to their claims.
The “collision” last week between China Coast Guard (CCG) and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessels were in fact actions by the Chinese to resolve the standoff by attempting to drive away two other Philippine vessels that arrived in the shoal to support the BRP Teresa Magbanua, which had been there for four months already.
The PCG’s newest and one of its biggest vessels, the Magbanua has been in the shoal for that unusually long period, in order, according to a PCG statement, to protect the country’s sovereign rights in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
The Magbanua entered Escoda Shoal in mid-April 2024 and has been there to this day. In response, the CCG sent one of its largest vessels, one with bow number 9701, to the shoal on July 3, anchored just 600 yards from the Philippine vessel. China claimed that the shoal (which it calls Xianbin Jiao) is its sovereign territory, part of its outlying archipelago it calls Nansha Qundao, and asked the Magbanua to leave, which, of course, it refused to do so.
The Philippine government appears to have been planning to repeat its “BRP Sierra Madre” tactic, that is, for the Magbanua to anchor in the shoal permanently, either on a rotational basis, or through regular resupplying by support vessels, to mark its sovereignty. The Chinese 9701 was intended to pressure the Magbanua to leave the shoal.
Rarely
Chinese officials explained that Escoda Shoal — unlike some other shoals in the Spratly Islands — was without any structures built by any country and was rarely sailed through by vessels from claimant countries. Neither was it a fishing ground for fishermen from these countries. Since the Magbanua had been in the area for nearly four months, the Chinese concluded the Philippines was onto a plan to permanently control the shoal, even build a structure there.
Moreover, the Chinese argued, the Philippines’ move to occupy the shoal by anchoring the Magbanua in the shoal’s lagoon violated Article 5 of the 2012 Declaration of the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, which with other Asean countries the Philippines and China agreed to:
“The Parties undertake to exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities that would complicate or escalate disputes and affect peace and stability including, among others, refraining from action of inhabiting on the presently uninhabited islands, reefs, shoals, cays and other features, and to handle their differences in a constructive manner.”
Tarriela
PCG Commodore Jay Tarriela, spokesman for the “National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea,” however shot back: “China should stop citing the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea as they have not honored or followed a single provision of that declaration.” He didn’t explain though how China had done this.
Tarriela also claimed that the PCG vessels have the right to operate Escoda Shoal for as long as necessary, without requiring permission from any other country, since it is located “within the country’s exclusive economic zone, in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2016 arbitral award.”
However, Tarriela doesn’t know that customary international law considers the claim of sovereignty, such as that made by China as superior to an EEZ assertion, as the one the Philippines has made.
Tarriela again demonstrated his utter ignorance of the dispute when he claimed that the Philippines’ claim is in accordance with the 2016 arbitral award that was the result of a Philippine suit filed against China in 2012. Nowhere in the award is Escoda Shoal even mentioned: the Philippines did not include a claim of ownership over it as an issue to be resolved by the tribunal. I urge Tarriela to read the award, which can be accessed on the internet, before he next opens his mouth.
Collision
In the early morning of August 19, however, two PCG vessels arrived at the shoal. The Chinese officially claimed that one of the vessels first sailed close to a CCG vessel which resulted in the collision, and then raced it and cut its path, resulting in the collision.
However, I was told that a Chinese vessel first attempted to push one PCG vessel from its rear, to maneuver it out of the shoal. The PCG vessel though instead managed to overtake the CCG and then moved suddenly to the right to collide with it. That collision though was more of a hit-and-run incident, as the two PCG vessels right after the incidents left the shoal. The Magbanua was replaced by another PCG vessel before the incident.
“Our officials have decided to move decisively to remove all Philippine vessels from Escoda Shoal,” a Chinese diplomat claimed. He didn’t elaborate how.
I think it was reckless for the Marcos Jr. government to test China’s determination to defend what it considers to be its territory. It should have left Escoda as a shoal very few Filipinos knew existed. Now the Chinese, with its CCG and Navy dwarfing ours, are taking it over like a walk in the park, just as it did in the Scarborough Shoal standoff in 2012, with the US refusing the Aquino III government’s pleas for help.
It is eerie that the Scarborough standoff occurred April to June 2012, a few months before the US presidential elections, and President Obama didn’t want a conflict breaking out that would complicate his chances of winning reelection. Now, it is just months to the November 2024 presidential elections, and neither Trump nor Harris would want a conflict with China.
After all the newspapers the other day reporting the collision and all blaming it on China, there isn’t a single report on developments in the shoal. The Marcos Jr. government obviously can’t tell them what to report, as it has realized what a boo-boo its actions have been in Escoda Shoal.
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Aquino III lost Scarborough in 2012; Marcos likely to lose Escoda now
Source: Breaking News PH
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