PCG pulls out BRP Teresa Magbanua from Zambales mission
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said Wednesday, Jan. 15, that it temporarily relieved BRP Teresa Magbanua (MRRV-9701) from its duty of challenging the presence of China Coast Guard’s (CCG) “monster” ship off the coast of Zambales.
“As of [Wednesday] morning, BRP Teresa Magbanua was already relieved in place. It’s on her way back to the Port of Manila,” Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson for West Philippine Sea, said in a television interview over ANC.
The CCG began patrolling the border of the so-called 10-dash line by China which overlaps with the Philippines' waters on Jan. 4 when it deployed the monster ship 54 nautical miles off the coast of Capones Island in Zambales.
The PCG immediately deployed BRP Teresa Magbanua to challenge the position of the monster ship until it was forced to go back to the Port of Bataan last Jan. 13 for repairs when its auxiliary engines overheated.
Currently, patrol vessel BRP Gabriela Silang (OPV-8301) was left to monitor the 12,000-ton CCG-5901, which was loitering Zambales’ coast at a distance of 60 to 90 nautical miles.
Tarriela said BRP Gabriela Silang was approximately 300 to 500 yards away from China’s monster ship.
“It’s very close. We have to make sure that the Chinese government will have difficulty in maneuvering closer to Zambales,” Tarriela said.
While the monster ship was not aggressive, Tarriela said that its presence in the Philippine waters could not fall under the principle of innocent passage or freedom of navigation.
He said BRP Gabriela Silang has been issuing radio challenges to CCG-5901 but the monster ship would respond that it was conducting maritime patrol in waters under the jurisdiction of the Chinese government.
“We're telling them that based on the Philippine Maritime Zones Act, the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea, and the 2016 Arbitral Award, the Chinese government [does] not have the legal authority to justify what they're claiming that they're doing maritime law enforcement,” Tarriela explained.
On Jan. 14, the National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea called on China to withdraw the monster ship from the Philippine waters.