PH ready if China tries to tow BRP Teresa Magbanua —Navy

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has contingencies in place in case China tries to tow Philippine Coast Guard’s (PCG) Teresa Magbanua in Escoda Shoal, the Philippine Navy said on Wednesday.

“One of the options yan na pwedeng gawin ng kabilang side is hatakin yan,” Philippine Navy spokesperson Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad told Super Radyo dzBB in an interview.

(One of the options is for the other side to tow it.)

“But there are already contingencies in place na alam din naman ng ating Western Command what to do if in case this would escalate,” he added.

(But there are already contingencies in place that our Western Command also knows what to do in case this escalates.)

China has been urging the Philippines to remove BRP Terera Magbanua from Escoda Shoal as its presence supposedly violated Chinese sovereignty.

BRP Teresa Magbanua has been stationed in Escoda Shoal since April amid reports of China’s reclamation activities in the area.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry recently lodged a formal protest over the presence of Philippine ship BRP Teresa Magbanua in Escoda Shoal.

Escoda Shoal is located 75 nautical miles or about 140 kilometers off Palawan and is within the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Tensions continue amid China’s massive claim in the South China Sea (SCS), including the portion the Philippines refers to as the West Philippine Sea.

The SCS is a conduit for more than $3 trillion in annual ship commerce. Aside from the Philippines, China has overlapping claims in the area with Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei.

In 2016, an international arbitration tribunal in Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines over China's claims in the South China Sea, saying that it had "no legal basis."

China has not recognized the decision. --VAL, GMA Integrated News