Chinese ships in WPS reach new record-high at 251

The Philippine Navy on Tuesday said the number of Chinese ships in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) reached another record-high for this year at 251.

“This time, ito ang pinakamalaking (this is the biggest) increase. From 157, it went down a bit. then it went up to 251. For whatever reason, I don't want to speculate on that. We continue monitoring. We continue performing our mandate,” said Philippine Navy spokesperson for WPS Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said in a press briefing.

From September 17 to 23, the Philippine Navy spotted 204 Chinese maritime militia (CMM) vessels, 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) ships, 16 People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) warships, and three research vessels.

Chinese ships were spotted in the following WPS features:

Bajo de Masinloc - 2 CCGs, 2 PLANs, 7 CMMs, 1 research ship

Ayungin Shoal - 9 CCGs, 62 CMMs, 1 research vessel

Pagasa Islands - one CCG, 23 CMMs, 1 research vessel

Likas Island - 3 PLANs

Panata Island - 2 CMMs

Escoda Shoal - 16 CCGs, 11 PLANs, 55 CMMs

Iroquois Reef - 38 CMMs

Most of the Chinese ships were seen in Ayungin Shoal and Escoda Shoal. 

BRP Sierra Madre of the Armed Forces of the Philippines is grounded in Ayungin Shoal. Recently, BRP Teresa Magbanua of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) was pulled out from Escoda Shoal.

Trinidad confirmed that a Chinese research vessel was spotted 27 nautical miles from Palawan on Monday. He said Philippine ships were deployed to check the Chinese vessel, but it was no longer there.

“There were reports yesterday that it was monitored by Western Command. They sent a Coast Guard and three Navy ships to check on the reported presence of this research vessel,” he said.

“It so happened when they got to the vicinity, the research vessel was not there anymore. Our tracking is it exited southwest direction from the last reported position,” he added.

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. —VAL, GMA Integrated News