The Philippines insisted on Monday that it had not given up a disputed South China Sea reef, two days after it pulled out a ship stationed there following a months-long standoff with rival claimant China.
'We have not lost anything,' Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Commodore Jay Tarriela said, vowing that 'there will be a coast guard presence at Escoda Shoal ' after the withdrawal of its flagship BRP Teresa Magbanua from the reef, known internationally as Sabina Shoal .
Manila had deployed the BRP Teresa Magbanua in April to stop Beijing from reclaiming Sabina Shoal, but pulled it out after four crew members got sick, and after the ship was damaged in a collision with a Chinese vessel.Tarriela rejected comparisons to events at Scarborough Shoal, which Manila lost to Beijing after a similar months-long standoff in 2012.
Says Not Giving Up Escoda Shoal
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