MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Navy monitored 31 Chinese coast guard and naval vessels around four key features in the West Philippine Sea from Oct. 13 to 19, up from 27 the previous week, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said on Tuesday.
AFP spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad (Reserve) said the latest monitoring figures included 23 China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels and eight People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) warships.
At Bajo de Masinloc, also known as Panatag or Scarborough Shoal, the Navy recorded 16 Chinese vessels, comprising 13 coast guard ships and three PLAN warships. The shoal, a traditional fishing ground for Filipino fishermen, lies about 220 kilometers west of Luzon.
Six CCG vessels were monitored around Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, with no PLAN warships recorded in the area during the monitoring period.
Ayungin is a low-tide elevation about 194 km west of Palawan, where the Philippines maintains the grounded BRP Sierra Madre as a military outpost.
The Navy also monitored two PLAN warships around Escoda (Sabina) Shoal, with no Chinese coast guard vessels recorded. The low-tide elevation lies about 140 km west of Palawan.
Meanwhile, seven Chinese vessels—four CCG ships and three PLAN warships—were recorded around Pag-asa (Thitu) Island.
READ: 101 Chinese vessels monitored in West Philippine Sea in September – AFP
Pag-asa, about 480 km west of Palawan, is the largest Philippine-held feature in the Kalayaan Island Group and is home to a civilian community.
The latest tally represents an increase of four vessels from the 27 Chinese coast guard and naval ships monitored in the same areas from Oct. 6 to 12.
The continued presence of Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea comes amid tensions between Manila and Beijing over their competing maritime claims.
Beijing claims nearly all of the South China Sea, including waters within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone in the West Philippine Sea.
It has rejected the 2016 arbitral award, which invalidated the legal basis of its sweeping “nine-dash line” claim in the South China Sea, later expanded to a “10-dash line.” /cb
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