The Philippine Coast Guard BRP Teresa Magbanua was deliberately rammed multiple times by a Chinese vessel yesterday on Escoda Shoal, which has emerged as a new hotspot in the long-running maritime confrontations between Manila and Beijing.
“This afternoon, the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessel deliberately rammed and collided with the BRP Teresa Magbanua three times, despite no provocation from the Philippine Coast Guard,” PCG spokesperson for West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela said.
Escoda Shoal is about 140 kilometers off Palawan and about 1,200 kilometers from Hainan island, the nearest major Chinese landmass.
The BRP Teresa Magbanua has been stationed there since April due to reports of Chinese reclamation activities.
Beijing, however, accused the Philippine ship of deliberately running into a Chinese Coast Guard vessel.
China claims almost all of the economically vital waterway despite competing claims from other countries and an international court ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.
“China exercises indisputable sovereignty” in this zone, Chinese coast guard spokesperson Liu Dejun said.
Liu condemned the Philippine vessel’s “unprofessional and dangerous” conduct.
Escoda is also the rendezvous point for Philippine resupply missions to the BRP Sierra Madre on Ayungin Shoal.
Meanwhile, Japan has rebuked China over its “serious misrepresentations” in its statement that criticized Japanese Ambassador Kazuya Endo’s Escoda Shoal remarks, saying it only diverts attention from Beijing’s “dangerous actions” in the South China Sea.
The Japanese Embassy reiterated that the South China Sea issue is “directly related” to regional stability and that Tokyo would continue working with the international community to maintain a “free and open” international order based on the rule of law.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline “PCG ship rammed 3 times by Chinese vessel.”
