The Philippines will maintain a strategic presence in the Escoda (Sabina) Shoal stays even after the return of the BRP Teresa Magbanua from the area, retired Vice Admiral Alexander Lopez, National Maritime Council (NMC) spokesperson has said.
The BRP Teresa Magbanua left the shoal after more than five months of deployment and arrived at its homeport in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, earlier this month. A Chinese Coast Guard boat had rammed the Magbanua while it was navigating the shoal several weeks ago. During her deployment at Escoda Shoal, BRP Teresa Magbanua challenged an encirclement by a larger flotilla of intruders, battled inclement weather, with her crew surviving on diminished daily provisions, said NMC Chairperson, ES Lucas Bersamin.
Lopez said the pullout from the shoal doesn’t mean the country is giving up its claim to the area, which is well within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The Philippines will continue to maintain a presence in the area, including reconnaissance missions using aircraft and other technical capabilities, with the help of the country’s allies like the US, Japan, and Australia, Lopez said.
Lopez added that the Philippines can monitor Escoda Shoal with a single ship equipped with radar, noting that monitoring activities can be augmented by additional assets from the Philippine Navy (PN) and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG). The PCG will also soon send personnel to the shoal once the weather improves, according to Lopez. The BRP Teresa Magbanua will now be resupplied and repaired.
The BRP Teresa Magbanua was built by Japan’s Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co. Ltd, part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI). It is one of two ships ordered by the PCG in a contract worth US$132.57 million signed in 2020.
The design of BRP Teresa Magbanua, (hull number 9701) is based on the Japan Coast Guard’s own Kunigami-class Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) but there are some notable differences. While the Kunigami-class ships are 94 meter length, the Teresa Magbanua-class ships for the PCG are longer. Furthermore, a Bushmaster II 30 mm chain gun or JM61 20 mm Vulcan six-barrelled cannon on Kunigami-class OPV is absent on the new ships although they have an improved helicopter operational capability with the addition of a helicopter hangar that the Kunigami-class ships lack.
The Teresa Magbanua-class ships are 97 meter long, 11 meter wide, with a displacement of around 1700 tons. Powered with two 6,600 KW diesel engines that enable them to have a maximum speed of 24 knots, the ships are able to reach a maximum range of about 7,400 km (4,000 nautical miles) under a cruising speed of 19 knots.
This contract is part of the second phase of the joint Japanese-Philippine Maritime Safety Capability Improvement Project (MSCIP) between the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Philippine Coast Guard. In the first phase of the JP¥18.7 billion (US$172 million) Official Development Assistance (ODA) project, JICA transferred 10 44-meter Multi-Role Response Vessels (MRRVs) to the PCG. The last two ships were delivered in August 2018.
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