Marcos govt abandons Sabina (Escoda) Shoal to the Chinese
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has several times promised he “will not lose an inch of ‘territory” to China in the disputed areas of the South China Sea. In just two months, though, the Philippines lost the 2 trillion square inches that make up Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal on July 2 and Escoda (Sabina) Shoal just yesterday morning.
It was a result of Marcos’ belligerent stance toward China, in the rather stupid thought that the US would come to the aid of the Philippines.
The US didn’t, practically betraying the Philippines, as Adm. Samuel Paparo, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, said only a few weeks ago on August 27 that US vessels “escorting’ Philippine Coast Guard ships in the disputed areas of the South China Sea “is an entirely reasonable option.”
Did Marcos himself order the BRP Teresa Magbanua to turn tail and abandon Sabina Shoal? Or was he so busy with his birthday celebrations, which included a dusk-to-dawn party that had his favorite band Duran Duran of 1980s fame performing for P55 million at the super-exclusive event, that he failed to issue instructions to his military on what to do? However, it is known that he didn’t convene the National Security Council to discuss what was a matter of vital importance to the nation. Did Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. agree to hand over Escoda to the Chinese? Or was his vehement disagreement the source of the rumor that he had resigned from the Marcos government and is now sulking somewhere, refusing to talk to media?
Told several times by US officials of America’s “ironclad” commitment to stand by the Philippines, its Coast Guard’s BRP Teresa Magbanua, one of its biggest and newest ships, sailed to the Sabina Shoal on April 7, on the pretext of investigating reports that China was building artificial islands in the area.
It was, in reality, issuing a challenge to China that the shoal is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and, therefore, according to the administration’s grossly wrong interpretation, part of its sovereign territory.
However, China, which calls the area of which Escoda is part of Nansha Qundao, claims it as its outlying archipelago over which it has claimed sovereignty for at least two centuries. Many mostly colonial powers have such outlying archipelagoes — for instance the US claims Hawaiian islands as part of American territory, its outlying archipelago it forcibly grabbed in 1898. It is 2,000 kilometers from is mainland, farther than Nansha Qundao’s 1,000 km distance from China.
China, however, for some inexplicable reason, let the Teresa Magbanua remain in the lagoon for four months, demanding every day that it leave the area without doing anything. The Chinese foreign ministry only lodged last August 17 a formal protest over the presence of the BRP Teresa Magbanua at Escoda Shoal, saying that it “seriously infringes on China’s sovereignty, violates the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, and threatens the peace and stability in the South China Sea.”
Helicopter
On August 25, China intercepted fuel and food supplies headed for the vessel by undertaking maneuvers and using water cannons to drive away the boats carrying these supplies. On August 29, the Philippine military instead used a helicopter to drop supplies and fuel on the vessel, which had been going down to dangerous levels. On August 31, Chinese coast guard vessels attempted to push away the Magbanua itself by ramming and propelling it in the direction outside the shoal, a maneuver that didn’t work.
That apparently prodded the Chinese to decide on a more forceful move. It told Philippine officials that if it didn’t leave, it would tug the vessel out of the shoal. However, Philippine Navy spokesman Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad told media on September 11 that “one of the options is for China to tow the Magbanua out of the shoal,” boasting that “there are already contingency plans in place and our Western Command also knows what to do in case this would escalate.”
China’s vice foreign minister September 11 told his counterpart that China will firmly uphold its sovereignty, if the Philippines does not withdraw the Magbanua from the shoal, which it refers to as Xianbin Reef. Chinese Army Lt. Gen. He Lei also said that day that the “People’s Liberation Army will resolutely crush any foreign hostile encroachment” in the South China Sea, obviously referring to the Magbanua “encroaching” Sabina Shoal.
Just the other day, National Security Council assistant director general for communications, Jonathan Malaya, in a press conference said: “As a sovereign nation, the Philippines will resolutely defend its territorial integrity, sovereign rights and jurisdiction.” Maybe it was that general’s “crushing” talk: The next morning, Magbanua left the shoal, in effect abandoning it to Chinese control.
Occupation
Such physical control by the Chinese is crucial, as international law has viewed what is called “effective occupation” as the most crucial justification for a country’s claim of sovereignty over a disputed area.
While most of the islands and features above the sea, even at high tide in the Spratlys, have been occupied and mostly claimed by the Philippines, China and Vietnam, a few areas had not been actively claimed nor patrolled by these three countries in a way putting these in a sort of limbo in terms of sovereignty. Among these were Scarborough, Sabina (Escoda) and Second Thomas (Ayungin) shoals.
However, the Aquino 3rd administration’s moves to actively control Scarborough and the Marcos government’s actions on Second Thomas and Sabina shoals prodded China to undertake their own reactive measures to put these firmly under Chinese control.
Before 2012, Filipino fishermen and even vessels of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources could freely enter Scarborough’s lagoon. After the 2012 Scarborough stand-off, however, the Chinese barred such vessels from even approaching the shoal. Claiming that the Philippines was plotting to have the Magbanua anchor or even be deliberately grounded in Sabina permanently to symbolize its sovereignty there, just as the Sierra Madre was, the Chinese would likely, from hereon, block any Filipino vessel from entering the area.
On July 2, the Philippines claimed that it had reached an agreement with China, which allowed it to resupply the BRP Sierra Madre with food and other essential supplies for the sustenance of Marines stationed there, except for repair materials. The reality is that the “agreement” was merely the terms of “surrender” for the Philippines of Ayungin shoal, which is the reason the government hasn’t released it to the public.
Agreement
Under this agreement, the PCG and other Philippine government vessels are allowed by the Chinese to approach Ayungin and resupply the Sierra Madre only upon Chinese approval, undertaken only once a month, and with a two-day advance notice. That’s a de facto exercise of sovereignty by China.
China’s physical control of Sabina and Second Thomas Shoals is extremely bad news for the US. The Second Thomas and Sabina shoals are each bigger than Mischief Reef, which China had transformed in 2012 in retaliation against the suit that the Philippines brought against it into an island fortress complete with ports, airstrips, barracks and communication facilities. Seven of its other reefs were similarly made into islands, on which were built military encampments.
China could claim that the US has been building nine military bases in the Philippines, several of which could be armed with missiles aimed at its facilities in the Spratlys. It could claim that it has the right to defend itself from US aggression by turning Escoda and Sabina shoals into artificial islands through reclamation, on which it will build fortresses similar to those in its other facilities in the Spratlys.
It has the right to do so, China would claim, since legally and in practice, after the Philippines abandoned them, Sabina and Escoda shoals are its sovereign territory, where it has the right to anything it wants.
While China has not issued any statement on Magbanua’s withdrawal, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, as chairman of the National Maritime Council, at noon yesterday issued a statement claiming that the vessel sailed back to its homeport in Palawan “mission accomplished” but had “diminished daily provisions.”
“After she has been resupplied and repaired, and her crew recharged, she will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission, along with other PCG and AFP assets, as defenders of our sovereignty,” Bersamin said.
What mission did Magbanua “accomplish”? Making us the laughingstock of the world and strengthening China’s hold over the shoal?
The “mission” Magbanua also accomplished was exposing the truth that contrary to their often repeated claims, the US won’t help us in our sovereignty disputes in the Spratlys.
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Marcos govt abandons Sabina (Escoda) Shoal to the Chinese
Source: Breaking News PH
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