A five-month standoff between Manila and Beijing over a disputed maritime feature in the South China Sea has entered a new phase after the Philippine Coast Guard flagship has withdrawn, according to ship spotters.
Cutter BRP Teresa Magbanua (MRRV-9701) withdrew from the disputed South China Sea maritime feature on Friday and sailed in the Sulu Sea, according to AIS data posted on social media.
In a Sunday statement, the chair of the National Maritime Council Lucas Bersamin said Teresa Magbanua was leaving after completing its mission.
“This repositioning will allow the Magbanua to address the medical needs of some of her crew, undergo needed repairs, and allow her crew to enjoy a well-deserved furlough and reunion with their loved ones,” reads the statement.
“After she has been resupplied and repaired, and her crew recharged, she will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission, along with other [Philippine Coast Guard] and Armed Forces of the Philippines] assets, as defenders of our sovereignty.”
SCS UPDATE: according to AIS data, Philippine Coast Guard patrol vessel BRP Teresa Magbanua appears to have left Sabina Shoal, where it was subject to harassment & ramming by China Coast Guard ships.
Passing South of Palawan, it appears to be eastbound at 18kts. pic.twitter.com/bNJS29Adhz
— Tom Shugart (@tshugart3) September 14, 2024
The move follows calls from Philippine national security officials that Manila would maintain its presence at Sabina, known to the Philippines as Escoda and by China as Xianbin Jiao, the ship was spotted transiting from the South China Sea into the Sulu Sea today, according to AIS data.
“We are committed to maintaining BRP Teresa Magbanua at Sabina Shoal because we’re monitoring possible reclamation activities,” said National Security Council (NSC) spokesperson Jonathan Malaya.
Beijing has not yet released a statement regarding the movement of Teresa Magbanua vessel from Sabina. Prior to its departure, the Philippine Coast Guard stated that the vessel was running low on supplies. Manila’s previous attempts to resupply Teresa Magbanua with other patrol ships failed due to Chinese forces intercepting and blockading the missions. While an aerial resupply using a small utility helicopter was successfully conducted last month, it is unclear if the amount of supplies delivered was enough to sustain the personnel onboard the Coast Guard flagship.
China has also repeatedly cautioned Manila against conducting further resupply missions, citing concerns about future sea and air incidents.
Stationed at Sabina since April 16 amid allegations of a Chinese island reclamation project, the Coast Guard flagship maintained a Philippine presence despite an increasing number of People’s Liberation Army Navy, China Coast Guard and China Maritime Militia vessels surrounding the vessel. Teresa Magbanua’s mission eventually culminated in a series of incidents in August, which saw Chinese forces harass, ram, water cannon and blockade ships attempting to resupply the vessel or transiting near the shoal. The final incident of August included a ramming of the flagship itself.
Sabina Shoal is 75 nautical miles from the Philippine island of Palawan in the Spratly Island chain and around 50 nautical miles from the military facilities on the Chinese artificial island at Mischief Reef.
China previously constructed a number of articulated islands in the early 2010s, which have since turned into full-fledged air and naval bases for its forces. Beijing justifies these possessions under its Ten-Dash Line claim, which encompasses most of the South China Sea including the majority of the Philippine exclusive economic zone. Roughly a decade later, the Sabina Shoal Standoff echoed these concerns.
Thirty nautical miles to the west, Philippine Marines have maintained a presence at Second Thomas Shoal onboard the rusting BRP Sierra Madre (LT-57), a rusting Second World War-era landing ship tank that Manila beached at the maritime feature in 1999. The fall of 2023 saw a series of incidents over the resupply of its Marine garrison, which culminated in June when China Coast Guardsmen and Philippine Navy personnel clashed in the most severe incident to date.
