West Philippine Sea: 23 Chinese ships spotted from July 21-27 – Navy

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MANILA, Philippines – Almost two dozen Chinese naval and coast guard ships were spotted and monitored in four key features of the West Philippine Sea (WPS) from July 21 to 27, a ranking Philippine Navy (PN) official said Tuesday.

In a media briefing in Camp Aguinaldo, PN spokesperson for the WPS Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said these Chinese vessels included seven China Coast Guard (CCG) and seven People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) ships spotted in Bajo de Masinloc, four CCG and two PLAN ships sighted in Ayungin Shoal, one PLAN ship monitored in Sabina Shoal, and one CCG vessel and one PLAN warship spotted in Pag-asa Island, for a total of 23.

Trinidad said based on their monitoring from July 19 to 21, “the ships of the CCG and the PLAN in Bajo de Masinloc had to secure because of the inclement weather.”

READ: West PH Sea: Philippines alarmed by Chinese ships moving closer to shore

The Philippines is locked in a years-long territorial dispute with China over parts of the resource-rich South China Sea (SCS), parts of which Manila refers to as WPS.

In 2016, the Philippines won a landmark case against China’s massive claim in the SCS before an arbitration tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, but China refuses to recognize the ruling and continues to maintain its presence in the WPS.

Despite this, Trinidad reiterated that the Philippine military “will be resistant and unwavering against the aggressive actions of the Chinese Communist Party” in the WPS.

READ: West Philippine Sea: Chinese ship runs aground off Pag-asa island

He added that the Armed Forces of the Philippines “will keep performing our mandate of securing our national territory and protecting the integrity of our, protecting our sovereignty and sovereign rights.” /dl