PH Navy monitors 207 Chinese ships in WPS, highest number so far in 2024

A total of 207 Chinese ships have been monitored in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) in the past week, the highest number recorded so far this year, the Philippine Navy said Tuesday.

“It is the highest we have monitored for this year. A lot of the maritime militia are focused on Escoda or Sabina Shoal,” Philippine Navy spokesperson for WPS Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said in a press briefing.

“Sabina or Escoda has been under our attention for the past good number of months because of the reported increase of crushed corals and we have to determine if this is man-made or by force of nature.” 

From September 3 to 9, the Philippine Navy spotted 182 Chinese maritime militia (CMM) vessels, 18 China Coast Guard (CCG) ships, six People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) warships, and one research vessel. The breakdown is as follows:

• Bajo de Masinloc - 1 CCGs, 12 CMMs
• Ayungin Shoal - eight CCGs, 2 CMMs
• Pagasa Islands - one CCG, 49 CMMs
• Likas Island - one CMM
• Lawak Island - four CMMs
• Panata Island - one CMM
• Rizal Reef - one research vessel
• Escoda Shoal - eight CCGs, five PLANs, 55 CMMs
• Iroquois Reef - one PLAN, 58 CMMs

Trinidad said the increase in the number of Chinese vessels in the WPS is normal as they usually took shelter in ports amid the bad weather.

“It’s normal during inclement weather that ships take shelter in ports for their own safety. The ships that left Bajo de Masinloc went back to Hainan. They were replaced by ships coming from Mischief and or Subi after the typhoon had passed,” he said.

In a commentary published in the Chinese government’s official newspaper People's Daily on Tuesday, China said its relations with the Philippines are at a "crossroads" amid the issue on the South China Sea (SCS).

“At present, China-Philippines relations are at a crossroads, facing a choice of where to go. There is no way out of conflict and confrontation, and dialogue and consultation are the right way,” the commentary on People’s Daily said.

It added that the Philippines “should seriously consider the future path of China-Philippines relations, work with China in the same direction, and push bilateral relations back on track as soon as possible.”

China claims almost the entire South China Sea (SCS), including the portion the Philippines refers to as the West Philippine Sea.

The SCS is a conduit for more than $3 trillion in annual ship commerce. Aside from the Philippines, China also has overlapping claims in the area with Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei.

In 2016, an international arbitration tribunal in The Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines over China's massive claims in the SCS, saying that it has "no legal basis."

China has not recognized the decision. —KBK, GMA Integrated News