PH Navy: Number of Chinese vessels in WPS increased to 146

Nearly 150 Chinese vessels were recently found in various maritime features in the West Philippine Sea, the Philippine Navy’s data showed on Tuesday.

From June 4 to 10, the Navy said it spotted a total of 146 Chinese vessels in eight maritime features—-108 of which were Chinese Maritime Militia vessels (CMMV), 22 were People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels, and 16 were China Coast Guard vessels (CCGV).

The vessels found in the recent covered period were higher compared to the 125 vessels monitored from May 28 to June 3.

Most of them or 50 Chinese vessels were located at the Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal), which is 105 nautical miles west of Palawan and is within the country’s 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

There were 42 vessels also detected at the Pag-asa Island, and 33 were at the Scarborough Shoal (Bajo de Masinloc or Panatag Shoal).

Some vessels were also seen at Kota Island, Likas Island, Lawak Island, Panata Island, and Sabina Shoal.

Exercises

Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad attributed the increase in number of Chinese vessels, particularly those by the People's Liberation Army Navy, in the WPS, to the exercises conducted in the Sabina Shoal earlier this month.

“The increase is in the number of PLA Navy ships which could be attributed to the just concluded exercises conducted by the PLA Navy last June 2, 3 and 4 in the vicinity of Sabina Shoal,” he said in a press conference.

During the exercise, the Chinese military launched a hovercraft and aircraft and performed maneuvers at sea.

However, now that the rainy season has arrived, Trinidad said that the weather may affect the Chinese vessels’ presence in the region.

“The weather affects all players, all claimant countries to include not only China, Vietnam, the Philippines, everybody. Lahat po tayo apektado ng weather [all of us are affected by the weather],” he added.

Over the weekend, at least 30 Chinese maritime militia vessels were spotted in Rozul or Iroquois Reef. They were detected via satellite imaging and shared in a social media post by security analyst Ray Powell.

Rozul Reef is inside the Philippine’s EEZ and is located to the south of Reed Bank where dead coral had recently been allegedly dumped.

Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad admitted Monday that they are no longer surprised by the presence of Chinese vessels in the area, but maintained that these foreign vessels should not be lingering there as the reef is located within the country’s EEZ.

The presence of China Coast Guard vessels in the Rozul Reef was monitored days after China harassed the Philippine Coast Guard’s (PCG) marine scientists who went to Sabina Shoal to look into its environmental damage.

In April, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) found crushed coral in the seabed of Rozul Reef.

China has rejected the 2016 international tribunal ruling and maintained indisputable and historic rights over 90 percent of the South China Sea – a major shipping route and said to be harboring rich oil and gas reserves.

Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also claims in part or in whole the resource-rich waters.

Parts of the waters within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone have been renamed by Manila as West Philippine Sea. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News