Read previewThe Philippines has withdrawn one of its key patrol vessels from the South China Sea, where tensions with China have been growing in recent months. But, he added, its presence in the waters had been "further complicated by the structural damage to the vessel resulting from the deliberate ramming by the China Coast Guard on August 31, 2024." AdvertisementThe Teresa Magbanua has operated since April around Sabina Shoal — a disputed island in the South China Sea that has become a key flash point between the Philippines and China. Earlier this month, the Philippines' Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad told the Daily Tribune that the Teresa Magbanua had been outnumbered by more than 50 Chinese ships. China "has indisputable sovereignty over Xianbin Jiao and its adjacent waters," Liu Dejun, a spokesperson for China's Coast Guard, said, using the island's Chinese name.

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Persons: —, Jay Tarriela, BRP Teresa Magbanua, Teresa Magbanua, Tarriela, Roy Vincent Trinidad, Lucas Bersamin, Xianbin Jiao, Liu Dejun, Teresa Magbanua's, Alexander Lopez, Lopez Organizations: Service, Coast Guard, BRP, Philippine Coast Guard, Business, China Coast Guard, South China, coastguard, Daily Tribune, National Maritime Council, Armed Forces, Guard, China's Coast Guard, Reuters, Sunday Locations: South China, China, Philippines, Sabina, South, Philippine, China's, Sabina Shoal, Xianbin