MANILA – The Philippines has not lost Escoda Shoal in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) despite the pullout of BRP Teresa Magbanua, according to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
PCG spokesperson for WPS Commodore Jay Tarriela said on Monday that Philippine vessels can still go to Escoda Shoal because it has many entry points unlike Bajo de Masinloc.
“As far as the Philippines Coast Guard is concerned, we have not lost anything,” Tarriela said. “Escoda Shoal, no matter how many instances we intend to go there, we can be able to patrol and deploy our vessel.”
“Escoda Shoal has a total area of 137 square kilometers. For you to visualize how big this area is, it is a combination of cities from Manila, Caloocan, Navotas, and Malabon,” he added.
“Bajo de Masinloc only has one single entrance and that is the southeast entrance of the lagoon in Bajo de Masinloc. Escoda Shoal is composed of two lagoons on the west side and eastern side. And each lagoon has different areas where you can pass through,” he further said
Tarriela said Chinese vessels had successfully blocked the previous resupply missions of Philippine ships in Escoda Shoal because China already knew that BRP Teresa Magbanua was the destination.
“But right now, there is no reason for us to be blocked. We can go to Escoda Shoal with such total area and it’s almost impossible for the Chinese government to block our intent to patrol the entire vicinity of Escoda Shoal,” Tarriela said.
BRP Teresa Magbanua, which was stationed Escoda Shoal since April, was pulled out on Sunday due to its questionable seaworthiness, lack of supplies for the crew, and the bad weather condition.
Escoda Shoal, also known as Sabina Shoal, is located about 140 kilometers off Palawan and is within the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
China has been urging the Philippines to remove BRP Terera Magbanua from Escoda Shoal, saying the ship’s presence violated Chinese sovereignty./PN
