Navy: 30 Chinese vessels seen across key West PH Sea features

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Navy said on Tuesday that at least 30 Chinese vessels were monitored across four critical features in the West Philippine Sea as of Monday.

Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad said its latest monitoring, as of 5 p.m., showed four People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) ships and eight Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessels inside Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal).

In Ayungin Shoal, the Navy detected one PLAN ship and six CCG vessels, while Escoda Shoal had one PLAN ship and five CCG ships, Trinidad said.

At Pag-asa Island, the country’s largest inhabited outpost in the Spratlys, there were no PLAN ships, but the Navy observed five CCG vessels.

“No untoward incidents were reported for the period in review,” Trinidad said in a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

‘Illegal presence’

He added that while no coercive or aggressive actions were noted, “their illegal presence is still there.”

Trinidad said the number of Chinese vessels may drop in the coming days as a typhoon approaches the West Philippine Sea. 

“We expect these numbers to go down… with the advent of the typhoon,” he said.

Despite the weather, he assured that Philippine forces continue regular air and sea patrols. 

“At any one time, we have an ongoing patrol… by the Philippine Navy and the Philippine Air Force,” he said, adding that operations fall under the Northern Luzon Command and Western Command.

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Buoy still in Scarborough

Trinidad also confirmed that the large buoy spotted at the mouth of Bajo de Masinloc last week remain in place, based on the latest reports from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

The matter has been raised to the National Maritime Council (NMC), he said. 

“Whatever the decision of the NMC to the Coast Guard or Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, the AFP is ready to support them,” said Trinidad.

He added that the buoy, estimated at 5 to 8 meters in diameter, is positioned in the northeast section of the shoal but does not affect Filipino fishermen. /das