PH Navy challenges ‘illegal’ drills of Chinese warships in Sabina Shoal
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Navy challenged what it branded as the Chinese Navy’s “illegal” conduct of unilateral drills off Escoda (Sabina) Shoal amid the Philippine Coast Guard’s (PCG) persistent presence there.
Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad, the Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, said the People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLAN) launched hovercraft and aircraft and conducted maneuvers at sea on Sunday and Monday.
“We were able to monitor and challenge all their actions in Sabina Shoal,” Trinidad said in a regular press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo.
Trinidad said that the PLAN had “no right” to conduct its drills inside the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the country.
“The conduct of an exercise [within another country’s EEZ] is unauthorized under Unclos. It is not allowed,” he also said, referring to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Escoda Shoal falls 75 nautical miles from the coast of Palawan, well within the country’s exclusive economic zone.
READ: PCG sees signs of possible island – building in Escoda Shoal
The atoll serves as the rendezvous point for government vessels carrying out resupply missions for BRP Sierra Madre, which is grounded at nearby Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal.
Also, the PCG maintains a constant presence in the atoll amid reports of reclamation activities there. However, this presence was met with suspicion from China, with its state media claiming that the Philippines is “effectively forging a quasi-military-grounding” there.
Beijing asserts sovereignty in almost the entire South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea, even if such a claim has been effectively invalidated by a July 2016 international tribunal ruling that stemmed from a case filed by Manila in 2013.
