Regular patrols urged in Escoda Shoal

By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora, Philippine News Agency

FILE: University of the Philippines Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea director and professor Jay Batongbacal guests at the Saturday News Forum at Dapo Restaurant in Quezon City on Aug. 31, 2024. (PNA photo by Robert Oswald P. Alfiler)

MANILA – The Philippine government should focus on conducting regular patrols in and around Escoda Shoal, also known as Sabina Shoal, a maritime law expert suggested as the country explores ways to manage the situation in the area.

In an interview in Taguig City, University of the Philippines Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea director Jay Batongbacal said Manila should continue insisting on its own rights and entitlements over the feature “even if China continues to prevent us from exercising those”.

“You should continue to be very blunt about it. Because that’s the only way you will be able to show that you’re standing your ground and you’re not going to bow down, (that you are not going) to simply fall due to their power,” he said on the sidelines of the Foreign Service Institute-led Law of the Sea Academy for ASEAN Diplomats on Tuesday.

“Actually, that’s what really annoys them. That’s what really gets to them and they cannot understand why we’re standing up to them, they have no idea,” he added.

The BRP Teresa Magbanua, the Philippine Coast Guard’s (PCG) largest vessel, was forced to return to Puerto Princesa Port after months of deployment due to unfavorable conditions at sea worsened by inclement weather and the damage it sustained from China’s recent ramming.

Batongbacal agreed that the pullout does not necessarily mean a surrender on the part of the Philippines.

“Let’s face it, what happened with Magbanua, we reached the limits of that particular scenario, that particular instrument. Magbanua was damaged– supplies (were) cut, people (were) suffering serious challenges,” he said.

What the government should do, Batongbacal said, is to sustain regular patrols, interfere if a state do mobilize a dredging ship, and expose any illegal activities happening inside the shoal, which is located well-within the Philippine exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Under Article 60 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, only the coastal state has the exclusive right to construct artificial islands, installations, and structures within its EEZ.

The PCG vessel was stationed at the Escoda Shoal in April after the government monitored increased Chinese presence and discovered crushed corals in the feature, which was suspected to be a prelude to artificial island building.

The PCG earlier confirmed that the government plans to deploy another vessel to the feature “soon”.