The Philippine Navy on Tuesday confirmed it has monitored the presence of two Chinese fishing boats on the east coast of the country but noted “it is not alarming.”

In a press conference at Camp Aguinaldo, Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea (WPS), Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, said the Chinese vessels were spotted outside the country’s territorial sea and were among other foreign ships being monitored in the maritime traffic within the Philippine exclusive economic zone (EEZ). 

“This is not alarming. It is not only the Chinese fishing boats that we monitor. There are other fishing boats from other countries all over our EEZ, including ASEAN countries and the Pacific Island states,” he said.

It was former US Air Force official and ex-Defence Attaché Ray Powell who said that Chinese fishing boats—Lu Rong Yu 51794 and Lu Yan Yuan Yu 017—were seen “operating” in less than 20 nautical miles from the San Ildefonso Peninsula in Casiguran, Aurora.

Trinidad said the country’s naval forces spotted the boats from 32 nautical miles. 

“Again, a fishing vessel is just one of the hundreds on a daily basis.  Unless there is a more specific report that would give us reason to zero in on a particular fishing vessel or a particular ship out there, then we treat this all as fishing vessels that are within our EEZ,” he explained. 

Trinidad maintained that the Armed Forces of the Philippines is considering all the factors as to the presence of foreign vessels near the country’s territorial waters. 

“Their presence will also be dependent on the weather. Generally, when there’s a typhoon, the number of maritime traffic decreases,” he said.