- Finally, since April it has ended without bloodshed in the Sabina/Xianbin/Escoda Lagoon, in the east of the Spratley Archipelago, the BRP Teresa Magbanua, the long and tense anchor of the Philippine coastal surveillance vessel. On September 15, Sunday, he raised the anchor and headed towards the port. Of course, his rivals did not stop him. This tension between the Philippines and China has therefore ended without any bloodshed in the area. At the moment.
As is customary in these cases, both sides have claimed their own victory. But as far as the details are concerned, there does not seem to be such a draw. Although the Filipinos say “Mission accomplished” in the media, the explanation of the facts indicates that they have forcibly retired: the medical needs of the crew, the bad weather and damage suffered in the hull by a Chinese who hit three weeks ago. On the contrary, the Chinese, as if they wanted to circumvent the winning/losing logic, believe that things have only replenished; but it is noted that nothing like this will happen again in the future. Perhaps because the Scarborough/Huangyan/Masinloc Atoll is much more strategic?
It is striking that, in any case, the two sides only indirectly suggest the factor that seems to have been decisive in Xianbin/Escoda: hunger. At least in recent weeks, Teresa Magbanua has been subjected to a veritable “siege” by Chinese boats that have spent a dozen of them at times. They have prevented any kind of supply from being delivered to him, blocking access to the raft, and have even prevented assistance by helicopters which, in theory, should be feasible.
It can be said that we were able to see (well, guess) the first phenomenon of the Chinese “Maritime Militia”, which in theory would be empty fishing boats, but in practice until recently it did not seem much more than to be invented. In the blockade imposed on the largest Philippine coastguard, Chinese coastguards have only intervened from time to time, and most of the task has been on behalf of these other vessels. It is, without a doubt, a factor to consider for the future and not only for past accounts.
And looking to the immediate future, the most striking thing is that nothing has yet been said on the one hand and on the other, during the whole crisis of Teresa Magbanua, not even at the end of it, with a BRP Sierra Madre that is in a continuous bed and much worse.
But well, for the time being, no blood has been shed on the island of Spratley. And gray boats didn't show up. At the moment.