Over 80 Chinese vessels spotted off Pag-asa Island

At least 83 Chinese militia and fishing vessels were monitored in Pag-asa Island in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) on Wednesday, an expert monitoring the presence of Chinese ships in the area said. 

"Marine Traffic confirms at least 83 China militia & fishing ships within Philippines Thitu (Pag-Asa) Island's territorial sea right now,” former US Air Force official and ex-defense attaché Ray Powell said on X (formerly Twitter).

On Tuesday, Powell reported that up to 75 Chinese ships were seen off Pag-asa Island, saying it was “by far the largest China vessel swarm I've ever seen” in the area.

"26 November - By far the largest China vessel swarm I've ever seen off Philippine Thitu (Pag-Asa) Island. Despite clouds, I count at least 73-75 ships sitting 2.5-5.5 nautical miles from Philippines-held island—well within its 12 nautical miles territorial sea,” he said.

Philippine Navy spokesperson for WPS Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said the 75 Chinese ships in Pag-asa Island that Powell previously mentioned would be “fairly accurate” considering the WPS feature is close to Subi Reef, which is already militarized by Beijing.

"'Yung ating monitoring would show us yung ganung numbers ay nasa, ang Subi Reef kasi is within the territorial sea ng Pagasa, so yung ganung numbers that would be fairly accurate. Malapit lang naman yun sa Pag-asa kapag lumabas ng Subi. Nasa karagatan ka na rin ng Pagasa,” Trinidad told Dobol B TV in an interview on Wednesday.

(Our monitoring would show us those numbers, because Subi Reef is within the territorial sea of Pag-asa, so those numbers would be fairly accurate. It is close to Pag-asa when you exit Subi.”

GMA News Online has reached out to Trinidad for confirmation that the number has increased to 83 but he has yet to respond as of posting time.

Pag-asa Island is around 285 nautical miles from Palawan.

The Philippine Navy on Tuesday said the presence of Chinese vessels remains a threat after the military conducted 54 activities in the WPS this November.

"The presence of the maritime militia, the [People's Liberation Army Navy], and the Coast Guard, which has been there for quite some time, is a continuing threat," Trinidad had said.

"We have monitored them. We are tracking them. They are an existential threat," he added.

Despite China's presence, Trinidad said the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will keep performing its mandate in protecting the WPS.

Tensions between China and the Philippines continue as Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea — a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual shipborne commerce — including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei.

In June, the Philippines officially asked the United Nations to extend its boundary farther into the disputed South China Sea.

Citing Article 76 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Manila said "a coastal State such as the Philippines is entitled to establish the outer limits of its continental shelf comprising the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas extending beyond 200 nautical miles (NM) but not to exceed 350 NM from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured." —KBK, GMA Integrated News