West Philippine Sea: Navy spots 20 Chinese vessels in early December

Photo: Navy Spokesperson Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad reports Chinese presence in key features of the West Philippine Sea on Tuesday in a briefing at Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City. (Photo by Gabryelle Dumalag)

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Navy on Tuesday said it monitored at least 20 Chinese vessels in the first week of December across key features of the West Philippine Sea.

Navy spokesperson Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad said in a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City that the latest monitoring in Panatag Shoal showed five Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessels and two People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLA-N) warships.

Panatag Shoal, locally known as Bajo de Masinloc, is located some 220 kilometers away from Luzon in the West Philippine Sea, well within the country’s exclusive economic zone. Much of that area remains under Beijing’s control following a 2012 standoff with the Philippine Navy.

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

In Ayungin Shoal, Trinidad said the Navy detected one PLA-N ship and six CCG vessels, while Escoda Shoal had one PLA-N and two CCG ships. The feature lies 195 kilometers west of Palawan.

At Pag-asa Island, the country’s largest inhabited outpost in the Spratlys, two PLA-N warships and one CCG vessel were monitored. The island is about 528 kilometers west of Palawan.

‘Not unusual’

Moreover, Trinidad noted that 101 Chinese maritime militia vessels were spotted over the weekend in the West Philippine Sea. 

“The reports by the Coast Guard during their maritime awareness flight revealed that there were 101 maritime militia vessels,” he said. 

“However, it is not unusual to have this number in our different features in the West Philippine Sea,” Trinidad said.

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He added that the reported number is “a normal number” considering that the total number of maritime militia vessels in the West Philippine Sea typically ranges from 300 to 350.

The spokesperson further characterized these vessels as “double-handed ships” that may be used by fisherfolk or as force multipliers by the Chinese military.

Asked how the Navy responds to these sightings, Trinidad said they monitor the vessels and maintain constant patrols in the area together with the Coast Guard.

Constant presence

Meanwhile, the Navy spokesperson said that China has maintained its presence in key features of the West Philippine Sea this year.

“The aggressive and coercive actions are fairly constant,” he said. “There are ups and downs.”

But Trinidad maintained that as long as China’s illegal presence remains, there is always a possibility of escalation.

He noted that China has been taking similar actions not just against the Philippines, but also against the military forces of Japan, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and other like-minded countries. /dl