Manila had deployed the coast guard flagship BRP Teresa Magbanua to Sabina Shoal in April to stop Beijing from building an artificial island there, as it has atop several other disputed spots in the strategic waterway.
But the ship was abruptly called back to the western Philippine island of Palawan, with Manila citing damage from an earlier clash with Chinese ships, ailing crew members, dwindling food and bad weather.
“We have not lost anything. We did not abandon anything. Escoda Shoal is still part of our exclusive economic zone,” Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Commodore Jay Tarriela told a news conference Monday, using the Filipino name for Sabina Shoal.
Beijing claims most of the South China Sea, including Sabina Shoal, despite an international tribunal ruling that its assertions have no merit.
It has acted aggressively towards Philippine government vessels at Sabina and other disputed areas in recent months, ramming, blocking, water-cannoning and even boarding them, causing damage and injuries.
The confrontations have sparked concern that the United States, a military ally of Manila, could be drawn into armed conflict with China.
Chinese vessels were harassing resupply missions, and Tarriela said the BRP Teresa Magbanua’s water desalinator broke down, forcing the crew to rely on rainwater for drinking “for more than one month now”.
He said the crew were also reduced to “eating porridge for three weeks”, which “obviously is not nutritious”.
