South China Sea: Philippine ship leaves Sabina Shoal, but Manila vows to send another

Philippine maritime council says another vessel will ‘immediately take over’ for ship China says stayed illegally in disputed Spratlys

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The BRP Teresa Magbanua arrives at a port in Puerto Princesa in the Philippines on Sunday after spending months anchored at a South China Sea reef also claimed by Beijing. Photo: AFP / Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)

Published: 8:00pm, 15 Sep 2024Updated: 8:08pm, 15 Sep 2024

Manila will send a replacement for a Philippine coastguard ship that headed home on the weekend after a five-month deployment at a fiercely contested shoal in the South China Sea.

The National Maritime Council of the Philippines said on Sunday that the BRP Teresa Magbanua, a 97-metre (318-foot) Philippine Coast Guard ship, was sailing back to its home port from Sabina Shoal with its “mission accomplished”.

The council said the ship carried out its “sentinel duties against overwhelming odds” at the atoll, known in the Philippines as Escoda Shoal and in China as Xianbin Jiao.

But council spokesman Alexander Lopez was quoted by Reuters as saying another vessel would “immediately take over”, citing an order from the Philippine Coast Guard chief.

“Definitely, we will keep our presence there,” he was quoted as saying.

Manila stationed the BRP Teresa Magbanua, one of its biggest coastguard cutters, at the shoal in April to assert its territorial claims, triggering a series of clashes between the Chinese and Philippine vessels.

South China Sea: Philippine ship leaves Sabina Shoal, but Manila vows to send another

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Philippine maritime council says another vessel will ‘immediately take over’ for ship China says stayed illegally in disputed Spratlys

Philippine maritime council says another vessel will ‘immediately take over’ for ship China says stayed illegally in disputed Spratlys