19 Chinese vessels monitored in West PH Sea in February – Navy

MANILA, Philippines — Nineteen Chinese vessels were monitored in two locations in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) in February, the Philippine Navy said on Tuesday.

Navy spokesperson for the WPS Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy ships and Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessels were monitored in Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal) and Ayungin Shoal.

“For February, almost 12,000 ships of different kinds were monitored in our maritime domain. This comprises 2,000 plus domestic and 9,000 plus foreign,” Trinidad said in a press briefing.

“Of this, 19 were PLA Navy and Coast Guard ships — nine PLA Navy and two Coast Guard vessels were monitored in Bajo de Masinloc, while seven PLA Navy ships and one Coast Guard vessel were sighted in Ayunin Shoal,” he added.

Although there were no suspicious activities monitored from these Chinese vessels, Trinidad pointed out that their presence alone was already “illegal.”

“The actions of the Philippine Navy, the Air Force, the Army, and the entire AFP will continue amid all the illegal presence of any foreign intruder. We have our regular patrol plans, we have air surveillance flights, we coordinate with other government agencies to report their illegal presence in our EEZ (exclusive economic zone),” Trinidad said.

From January to February this year, the Philippine Coast Guard monitored the movements of CCG vessels “unlawfully operating” within the country’s exclusive economic zone and near Zambales.

Beijing’s continued aggression was based on its assertion of sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, including most of the West Philippine Sea, as it continues to reject the 2016 arbitral ruling that effectively dismissed its claims and ruled in favor of Manila.