Foreign vessels back at EEZ but expert says only near edge

Hundreds of foreign fishing vessels again have been observed at the Union Banks near Palawan, some 200 nautical miles off the Philippines exclusive economic zone.

American tech firm Simularity's satellite images indicated that foreign fishing vessels increased from  nine in mid-May to 236 in June at the Union Banks, a "24 Oras" report of Chino Gaston showed Tuesday.

The origin of the ships have yet to be known but only China and Vietnam have outposts near the area, according to the tech firm.

Atty. Jay Batongbacal, however, said the Philippines' protests and patrols could be yielding results. He said the vessels were no longer inside the EEZ. 

"Kumbaga nasa edge sila ng EEZ, hindi 'yung pasok na pasok lahat. At least, hindi sila naka-base sa Mischhief Reef just right in the middle. They are more or less trying to stay away," Batongbacal said.

"And then when we look at 'yung data both detections at night, karamihan pa rin parang ino-observe nila 'yubg EEz boundary at least," he added.

To recall, the country's foreign affairs sent a diplomatic protest to China to demand the withdrawal of its vessels off Julian Felipe Reef. 

Defense Chief Delfin Lorenzana also urged China to remove their fishing boats lingering within the country's maritime territory.

Security analyst Rommel Banlaoi advised that the government should continue and intensify its maritime patrols in the country's territorial claims to stop incursions of foreign vessels. —Consuelo Marquez/NB, GMA News