South China Sea: Philippine ship leaves Sabina Shoal, but Manila vows to send another

Manila will send a replacement for a Philippine coastguard ship that headed home on the weekend after a five-month deployment at a fiercely contested shoal in the South China Sea.

The National Maritime Council of the Philippines said on Sunday that the BRP Teresa Magbanua, a 97-metre (318-foot) Philippine Coast Guard ship, was sailing back to its home port from Sabina Shoal with its “mission accomplished”.

The council said the ship carried out its “sentinel duties against overwhelming odds” at the atoll, known in the Philippines as Escoda Shoal and in China as Xianbin Jiao.

But council spokesman Alexander Lopez was quoted by Reuters as saying another vessel would “immediately take over”, citing an order from the Philippine Coast Guard chief.

“Definitely, we will keep our presence there,” he was quoted as saying.