View from Manila: From shoal to shoal, the ‘battle of narratives’ in WPS is just beginning 

MANILA, Philippines – Weeks after testing a temporary agreement to keep the peace in Ayungin Shoal comes another tense confrontation between the Philippines and China, this time in Escoda (Sabina) Shoal.

The effects of the China Coast Guard (CCG)’s “dangerous manuevers” were jarring. Photos from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Monday, August 19 showed a gaping hole in the BRP Bagacay’s deck and “minor structural damage” on another 44-meter vessel, the BRP Cape Engaño. 

The two were traversing waters some 20 nautical miles away from Escoda Shoal, en route to Philippine outposts in Patag and Lawak Islands. 

China was first to publicize the collision, claiming through CCG spokesperson Gan Yu that it was the Philippines who “repeatedly provoked and caused trouble.” 

The CCG mouthpiece also claimed that the Philippines “violated the temporary arrangements between China and the Philippines” — never mind that the agreement covers only Ayungin Shoal or Second Thomas Shoal, and no other feature in the West Philippine Sea. 

Speaking at the “Utak Forum,” a roundtable with both government officials and maritime and political experts, analyst and Aquino-era political adviser Ronald Llamas said there was “method in the madness” of China’s actions in waters off Escoda Shoal.  Sure, China was wrong in claiming that the Philippines violated the bilateral arrangement that covered Ayungin Shoal since neither PCG ships were heading there. One of China’s own videos (released by state-run mouthpiece Global Times) also seemed to contradict their claims that the Philippines was the aggressor. One clip seemingly show the CCG vessel moving towards the PCG ship, as the latter was trying to avoid it. 

But, Llamas said, it’s China that gains when one-fifth of the PCG’s sturdy 44-meter ships are damaged. (The PCG only has 10 Japan-made Parola-class patrol vessels and 2 97-meter patrol vessels, one of which has been in Escoda since April.) 

In a press conference in Beijing on August 19, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning insisted that the PCG ships were meant to bring supplies to the BRP Teresa Magbanua, a vessel that’s been anchored in Escoda since April 2024. “The Philippines sent coast guard vessels to intrude into waters of Xianbin Jiao in an attempt to send supplies to the Philippine coast guard vessel anchoring in the lagoon of Xianbin Jiao and seek long-term presence there,” Mao said. Xianbin Jiao is China’s name for Escoda or Sabina Shoal.

Mao’s claim that the PCG ships were there for a resupply mission to the BRP Teresa Magbanua contradicts Gan’s premise that the PCG ships were there to bring supplies to Ayungin Shoal.

The usual like-minded countries have come out to support the Philippines over this latest Escoda incident — including the United States, the European Union, Australia, Germany, and budding security partners New Zealand and France, among others. 

China’s ghosts 

In the same Utak Forum, the PCG’s Commodore Jay Tarriela went on about the Philippines’ transparency initiative, or its effort to publicize China’s actions in the West Philippine Sea. When it started, it meant bringing media to almost all resupply missions to Ayungin Shoal and the near real-time release, through either the PCG or military, of videos and images of Chinese harassment. 

The definition of transparency has undergone dramatic swings in recent months — from the chaotic information rollout of the June 17 Ayungin resupply and the restrained release of information of the subsequent July resupply mission to Ayungin, 

The shifts, perhaps, are indicative of the push and pull happening within government and beyond — there are those who think that any kind of (curated) transparency is good. There are those who, to this day, cringe at the levels of transparency that the Philippines reached in its West Philippine Sea thrust. 

“The transparency [initiative] is working but we did not say that the transparency initiative is a silver bullet in countering Chinese aggression. For us, in the WPS, our battle of the narrative has just started. And we’re not going to stop winning our information operation to counter the fake news and disinformation of the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” said Tarriela. 

Transparency, particularly in matters that concern our immediate and long-term national security interests, will always be a tricky balancing act for the Philippines. 

Just a week ago, Manila belatedly raised alarm over the China air force’s use of flares against a Philippine Air Force plane over Scarborough Shoal. Curiously, there wasn’t the usual influx of statements of support for the Philippines following the Scarborough incident. Philippine government officials said it could be because details of the incident weren’t immediately made public (it happened on August 8 but made public only on the 10th). 

Another factor could be that Scarborough is a high-tide elevation. There, the issue is of sovereignty and not sovereign rights. It’s an issue that has yet to be resolved, even as China has been controlling the shoal since 2012. 

Beijing has been especially antsy over Escoda Shoal ever since the Philippines deployed the PCG’s BRP Teresa Magbanua back in April to monitor China’s suspected reclamation activities in the area.

The agitation seems to have only heightened after the “provisional agreement” on Ayungin Shoal was announced, and after China tried to make it seem that their terms prevailed in negotiations. The Chinese embassy formally filed a protest over the ship’s presence in Escoda Shoal last week. 

Escoda Shoal, just like Ayungin Shoal, is a low-tide elevation that’s within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. It’s really close to Palawan and is typically the rendezvous area for missions to Ayungin Shoal. (But the August 19 collision happened over 20 nautical miles away from the shoal — maybe the CCG lost its sense of direction?) 

That the Magbanua — one of only two 97-meter ships in the PCG’s roster — is still in Escoda speaks of Manila’s commitment over Beijing’s expansionist ways.

Tarriela has criticized what he said was China’s “unfounded fears” that the Philippines would turn the 97-meter PCG ship into a forward deployment base in the area. 

“Their suspicions about the Philippines engaging in such actions stem from their own pattern of unlawfully occupying maritime areas in the South China Sea, followed by illegal reclamation and provocative militarization of those features,” said Tarriela in a statement last week. – Rappler.com