West PH Sea: Navy logs largest Chinese ship presence for 3rd straight week

This handout photo taken on December 2, 2023 and released on December 3 by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) shows an aerial view of Chinese vessels gathered by Whitsun Reef, around 320 kilometers (200 miles) west of Palawan Island, in disputed waters of the West Philippine Sea. FILE PHOTO/Agence France-Presse

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Navy on Tuesday reported the largest ever presence of Chinese ships in the West Philippine Sea, recorded for three consecutive weeks.

A total of 207 China Coast Guard (CCG) ships, People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) warships and Chinese maritime militia (CMM) vessels were logged from Sept. 3 to 9.

This is a bit more than the total of 203 CCG ships, PLA-N warships and CMM vessels recorded from Aug. 27 to Sept. 2.

READ: PH Navy logs largest Chinese ship presence in West Philippine Sea

The previous record of the Philippine Navy was only 163 Chinese ships, warships, and militia vessels last Aug. 20 to Aug. 26.

Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, the Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, said the latest number of Chinese coast guard ships, warships, and militia vessels recorded in the West Philippine Sea, while being the biggest recorded one so far, is still within the expected range.

“This is within the force projection capability of the South Sea Fleet, the Chinese Coast Guard, and the maritime militia,” Trinidad said in a press conference in Camp Aguinaldo.

Trinidad noted that the expected range for the PLA-N’s South Sea Fleet is 80 to 90 warships and submarines, 25 to 35 CCG ships, and 250 to 300 CMM vessels.

Only a total of six PLA-N warships, 18 CCG ships, and 182 vessels were recorded from September 3 to 9.

“So long as these are the forces within theater and they don’t bring in other forces from the East Sea Fleet or the North Sea Fleet, then this is still within the normal range of their capability,” Trinidad noted.

He also noted that the huge number of Chinese ships in Escoda (Sabina) Shoal prompted the biggest number. A total of 55 militia ships, five PLA-N warships, and eight CCG ships were recorded in the latest period.

BRP Teresa Magbanua, a 97-meter multirole response vessel of the Philippine Coast Guard, has been deployed in Sabina Shoal since April 16, becoming the longest-deployed PCG asset in the West Philippine Sea as a response to suspected reclamation activities around the shoal.

Also, the biggest ever number of Chinese ships, warships, and militia vessels was recorded at a time when Typhoon Enteng (international name Yagi) pummeled the region, which caused strong waves in the West Philippine Sea.

The Navy confirmed reports that some Chinese militia ships deployed in Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal returned to Hainan Island in China, but Trinidad noted that their numbers are negligible and that they were immediately replaced.

Beijing’s presence is based on its assertion of sovereignty in almost the entire South China Sea—including most of the West Philippine Sea—even if such a claim has been effectively invalidated by the arbitral award issued in July 2016.

READ: West PH Sea: New Chinese vessels head to Panatag after typhoon evacuation

The landmark ruling stemmed from a case filed by Manila in 2013 or a year after its standoff with Beijing at Panatag Shoal.

READ: West Philippine Sea: China ‘Monster’ ship deeper into PH waters