- The Philippines plans to send a new vessel to replace the Coast Guard vessel Teresa Magbanua, which has returned to Sabina Reef.
- China had demanded the withdrawal of the Teresa Magbanua, claiming it was “illegally stranded” on Sabina Reef.
- The Chinese Coast Guard criticized the Philippines' actions as a serious violation of its territorial sovereignty.
The Philippines said it would send a ship to Sabina Shoal, a disputed area in the South China Sea, to replace a coast guard ship that returned to port on Sunday after a five-month deployment there, a move likely to infuriate China.
China had demanded the Philippines leave the atoll, which it said was “illegally stranded,” after it said the 318-foot coast guard vessel Teresa Magbanua was removed. China claims the reef as part of a broader territorial claim over much of the South China Sea.
“The Philippine side's actions seriously violated China's territorial sovereignty,” China Coast Guard spokesman Liu Dejun said in a statement on Sunday about the Philippine “withdrawal” of its ships.
Timeline of China-Philippines clashes in South China Sea following recent ship collisions
The Philippine Coast Guard and National Maritime Council (NMC) said the Teresa Magbanua, which had been deployed to Sabina Shoal to monitor what Manila suspects to be small-scale Chinese reclamation activities in the area, had returned to port after completing its mission. “Another vessel will take over shortly. Make no mistake, we will remain stationed there,” NMC spokesman Alexander Lopez said, citing an order from the Philippine Coast Guard chief.
A China Coast Guard vessel is seen passing alongside the Philippine Coast Guard vessel BRP Cape Engano during a resupply mission to Sabina Reef in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, Aug. 26, 2024. The Philippines announced it would send a vessel to Sabina Reef to replace the Coast Guard vessel, which returned to port on Sunday after a five-month deployment. (JAM STA ROSA/AFP via Getty Images)
Sabina Reef, known by China as Xianbin Reef and by the Philippines as Escoda Reef, lies 93 miles west of the Philippine province of Palawan and within the country's exclusive economic zone.
Teresa Magbanua's presence there infuriated Beijing, making the shoal a new flashpoint in the disputed waterway.
Manila and Beijing traded accusations of deliberately ramming each other's ships off Sabina Island last month, shortly after signing an agreement to resupply Philippine naval vessels stranded on Second Thomas Shoal.
The return of the Teresa Magbanua was necessary for the medical needs of its crew and for repairs. Once resupplied and repaired, the ship will resume its duties as “defenders of our nation's sovereignty” alongside other Coast Guard and military assets, Executive Director and NMC Chairman Lucas Bersamin said in a statement.
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The move follows high-level talks between Manila and Beijing last week in which the Philippines reaffirmed its position on the Sabina and China reiterated its demand for the ship to be removed.
The Chinese coast guard said it would continue law enforcement activities in waters under Beijing's jurisdiction in accordance with the law and safeguard territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.
China claims most of the South China Sea, which stretches across waters in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
In 2016, the Hague Arbitration Court invalidated China's sweeping and historic claims, but Beijing rejects the decision.
