Chinese tugboat has left Ayungin Shoal, PH Navy official says

August 29 ------ The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy tugboat earlier spotted in Ayungin Shoal or Second Thomas Shoal has left the area, a Philippine Navy official said.

Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, said the Chinese tugboat left the vicinity of the shoal on Tuesday, August 26. “The tugboat was not sighted anymore as of [August 26]. Hindi na nakita ang tugboat,” Trinidad told reporters in a Zoom interview.

The tugboat was monitored some five nautical miles away from the grounded BRP Sierra Madre last Monday. Trinidad, however, said that its presence was not a cause for concern, stressing that a single tugboat would not be enough to tow the BRP Sierra Madre, which serves as the country’s naval outpost in the area. The official also assured that the vessel is "firmly anchored" to the corals in the shoal.

As of Tuesday, 19 Chinese vessels were monitored in the vicinity of Ayungin Shoal—two coast guard ships, two rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIBs), and 15 maritime militia vessels. “Basically, the number has been constant,” Trinidad noted. “Wala tayong report na lumalapit… Bagama’t ganun, nagmamasid pa rin ang ating mga tropa sa BRP Sierra Madre.”

Source: news.abs-cbn.com