news

한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina

[text/observer network xiong chaoran] on september 14th local time, the philippine coast guard ship "teresa magbanua" (brp teresa magbanua, philippine coast guard no. 9701), which had been illegally stranded in xianbin reef of china's nansha islands for a long time, has evacuated. several think tanks have also confirmed the news through the ship's automatic identification system (ais) information.

according to a reuters report on september 15 local time, the philippine coast guard and the national maritime commission threatened on the same day that the philippines would send another ship to xianbin reef to replace the philippine coast guard 9701, which "had returned to port after completing its mission." alexander lopez, spokesman for the philippine national maritime commission, also cited an order from the head of the coast guard and declared: "another (ship) will take over immediately. we will definitely maintain our presence there."

reuters pointed out that the long-term illegal stay of philippine coast guard ship 9701 at xianbin reef had already angered china, making the area the "latest controversial hotspot" in the south china sea. once the philippines sends a "replacement ship" to appear at xianbin reef again, this move will undoubtedly anger china again.

on september 15, liu dejun, spokesperson for the china coast guard, said that since april 17, the philippine coast guard ship no. 9701 has illegally stayed at china's xianbin reef for nearly five months. the philippine actions have seriously violated china's territorial sovereignty, seriously violated the "declaration on the conduct of parties in the south china sea", and seriously undermined regional peace and stability. during this period, china took control measures on the no. 9701 ship in accordance with the law, and the philippines' repeated attempts to organize forced replenishment failed. at about 14:00 on september 14, the philippine ship no. 9701 withdrew from china's xianbin reef lagoon. we warn the philippines to stop inciting hype and risking infringement, meet china halfway, and maintain the seriousness and effectiveness of the "declaration on the conduct of parties in the south china sea". china has indisputable sovereignty over the nansha islands, including xianbin reef, and its surrounding waters. the chinese coast guard will continue to carry out rights protection and law enforcement activities in the waters under china's jurisdiction in accordance with the law, and resolutely safeguard the country's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.

on september 14, local time, the us naval institute news (usni news) quoted tom shugart, a senior fellow at the defense project of the think tank center for a new american security (cnas), as saying that the philippine coast guard ship 9701 had left the area and entered the sulu sea that day. shugart wrote in a tweet that according to ais data, the philippine coast guard ship "teresa magbanua" seemed to have left the xianbin reef and was sailing south of palawan island, appearing to be heading east at a speed of 18 knots.

on september 15, the chinese think tank "south china sea strategic situation awareness program" also published a statement on the x platform to confirm that it had monitored that the philippine coast guard 9701 had evacuated the xianbin reef area.

reuters reported that lucas bersamin, the philippine chief civil servant and chairman of the national maritime commission, claimed in a statement that the evacuation of the philippine coast guard 9701 was due to the medical needs and maintenance necessities of the crew. once the replenishment and repairs are completed, the ship will continue to perform its mission as a so-called "sovereignty defender" with other coast guard and military assets.

it is worth mentioning that the philippine coast guard 9701, also known as the "teresa magbanua", is one of the two law enforcement ships built by japan for the philippines. for some time before, this ship, which had been stranded at xianbin reef for a long time, not only did not evacuate, but the philippines also illegally intruded into the waters near xianbin reef many times, dangerously approached the chinese coast guard ship, and even tried to deliver supplies to it many times, but all failed.

on august 26, the philippine coast guard issued a statement claiming that due to china's deployment of "excessive force" such as 6 naval ships, 3 coast guard ships and 31 fishing boats in the waters near xianbin reef to control philippine ships, philippine ships were unable to deliver basic supplies to the philippine coast guard ship "teresa magbanuya" that was illegally stranded in our xianbin reef.

this is the second consecutive day that the philippines has admitted to the failure of supply. the philippine media also released on-site footage, which showed that our coast guard ships surrounded and drove away the philippine coast guard "brp cape engano" and "brp cabra".

philippine media said the two coast guard ships were carrying food, supplies, a press corps and "special ice cream" prepared by philippine navy admiral ronnie gil gawan for his crew to celebrate national heroes day, but were blocked by chinese ships 24 nautical miles from the sinbin reef. the two ships then returned to the buliluyan port on palawan island.

according to the wechat public account "china coast guard" on august 31, liu dejun, spokesman for the china coast guard, said that at 08:02 on august 31, the philippine coast guard ship 9701, which illegally stayed at china's xianbin reef, weighed anchor and continued to maneuver in the xianbin reef lagoon, provoking and causing trouble. the chinese coast guard ship 5205 took measures such as shouting warnings and following up with the ship in accordance with the law. at 12:06, the philippine ship 9701 deliberately collided with the chinese ship 5205, which was normally safeguarding rights and enforcing the law in an unprofessional and dangerous manner, resulting in a collision. the responsibility lies entirely with the philippines. we once again warn the philippines to face reality, give up illusions, and immediately withdraw on its own. this is the only correct way. do not misjudge the situation, create hot spots, or escalate the situation, otherwise all the consequences caused by this will be borne by the philippines.

senior colonel wu qian, director of the information bureau of the ministry of national defense and spokesman for the ministry of national defense, also stated on august 29 that china has indisputable sovereignty over the nansha islands, including xianbin reef, and its surrounding waters. since april this year, the philippine coast guard ship 9701 has entered the xianbin reef lagoon without authorization and illegally stayed there for a long time, seriously infringing on china's sovereignty, seriously violating international law and the provisions of the declaration on the conduct of parties in the south china sea, and seriously endangering regional peace and stability. china firmly opposes and has made solemn representations on many occasions. the philippines' attempt to achieve a long-term presence in xianbin reef has opened the "pandora's box" that worsens the situation in the south china sea, and has been strongly opposed by regional countries.

since august 19, the philippines has repeatedly sent coast guard ships to attempt to break into the xianbin reef, during which they deliberately collided with chinese law enforcement ships in a dangerous manner. china has taken necessary measures in accordance with laws and regulations, and the on-site operations are professional and standardized. china is committed to properly managing differences through dialogue and consultation, but patience is limited. the philippines should immediately take action to withdraw ships and personnel from the xianbin reef and restore the reef to its current state of being unmanned and without facilities. china will continue to take resolute and forceful measures to safeguard its territorial and maritime rights and interests.

the united states is the biggest black hand stirring up the situation in the south china sea and the biggest destroyer of peace and stability in the south china sea. it is the instigation and support of the united states that has made the philippines fearless and repeatedly provoked. the united states' attempt to scare china with the "us-philippines mutual defense treaty" is completely futile and will only arouse greater indignation and fighting spirit among the chinese people.

according to the website of the ministry of foreign affairs, on september 11, vice foreign minister chen xiaodong and philippine undersecretary of foreign affairs lazaro jointly held a meeting of heads of delegations of the china-philippines bilateral consultation mechanism (bcm) on the south china sea in beijing.

the two sides had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on china-philippines maritime issues, especially the xianbin reef issue. china reiterated its principled position on the xianbin reef issue and urged the philippines to immediately withdraw the relevant ships. china will firmly safeguard its sovereignty and the seriousness and effectiveness of the declaration on the conduct of parties in the south china sea. the two sides agreed to continue to maintain communication through diplomatic channels such as the bcm.

this article is an exclusive article of observer.com and may not be reproduced without authorization.