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According to the Philippine Coast Guard, one of its main patrol vessels had to return home.
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Spokesman Jay Tarriela said the mission was complicated by damage caused by the Chinese ramming attack.
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It was part of rising tensions between the Philippines and China in the disputed South China Sea.
The Philippines has withdrawn one of its main patrol ships from the South China Sea, where tensions with China have risen in recent months.
In an X after On Sunday, Jay Tarriela, a spokesman for the Philippine Coast Guard, said that the BRP Teresa Magbanua, one of the newest and largest patrol vessels who had been deployed by the Philippine Coast Guard were forced to return home.
He cited poor weather conditions, limited supplies of daily necessities and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical attention.
But, he added, its presence in the waters was “further complicated by the structural damage to the vessel resulting from the deliberate assessment by the Chinese Coast Guard on August 31, 2024.”
The Teresa Magbanua has been sailing around Sabina Shoal, a disputed island in the South China Sea that has become a major point of contention between the Philippines and China, since April.
In June, the Chinese Coast Guard was equipped with swords and knives Philippine ships in the disputed waters were attacked, resulting in casualties and one soldier losing a thumb.
A month later, China’s largest coast guard ship arrived drop anchor in the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines, and in August, Tarriela said China has deployed 40 ships to block the delivery of supplies to soldiers stationed at Sabina Shoal.
Earlier this month, Philippine Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad told the Daily Tribune that the Teresa Magbanua was outnumbered by more than 50 Chinese ships.
The chairman of the National Maritime Council of the Philippines, Lucas Bersamin, said in a proposition on Sunday that the ship had carried out its “guarding” duties against “overwhelming odds” and was returning to its home port with its “mission accomplished.”
He added that once the ship is re-supplied, repaired and the crew re-energized, the Teresa Magbanua is ready to resume its mission, along with other assets of the Philippine Coast Guard and Armed Forces as “defenders of our sovereignty.”
Meanwhile, the Chinese Coast Guard has said The ship left the island on Saturday afternoon after five months of “unlawful presence” and that China would continue to maintain its sovereignty in the area.
“China has indisputable sovereignty over Xianbin Jiao and its adjacent waters,” said Liu Dejun, a spokesman for the Chinese coast guard, using the island’s Chinese name.
The absence of the Teresa Magbanua from the disputed waters is unlikely to have any impact on the standoff there.
Alexander Lopez, a spokesperson for the National Maritime Council of the Philippines said Reuters on Sunday that another vessel will “immediately take over,” citing an order from the Philippine Coast Guard chief.
“We will definitely continue to be there,” Lopez added.
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