The Chinese presence every time the Philippines conducts a maritime cooperative activity (MCA) with its like-minded nations in the West Philippine Sea is “not alarming” but “dubious,” a high-ranking military official said Tuesday.  

“We monitor their presence there while we conduct the maritime cooperative activity. It is not alarming but their presence is dubious. Kaduda-duda ang kanilang presensya,” Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, navy spokesperson for the WPS, said during a press conference at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City. 

In January, China Coast Guard and People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels were monitored shadowing three Philippine Navy ships conducting a joint maritime air exercise with the US ship—the first Philippine-US MCA this year.

In another MCA in February, Chinese vessels once again showed up during the joint maritime patrols between the US and the Philippines. Though it did not perform any illegal maneuvers, the PLAN ship was detected shadowing the MCA participating vessels. 

Chinese ships were also spotted during a multilateral MCA among the vessels from the Philippines, the US, Japan, and Australia in September. 

Trinidad confirmed there was a Chinese presence monitored during the MCA between the Philippines and Japan, which was concluded in the Northern Luzon Command areas earlier this month. 

Meanwhile, no Chinese sightings were reported in the recently conducted MCA between the Philippines and the United States in the Western Command area. 

“In the Japanese and Philippine Navy activity here were two PLA Navy warships that were in the vicinity of the exercise close to our ships within 5 to 8 nautical miles. [But] in no way do they interfere with our MCA or whatsoever,” Trinidad said.