The Philippine Navy on Tuesday said China has been tapping normal fishing boats to act as “force multipliers” to show force in the South China Sea (SCS).

In a press conference at Camp Aguinaldo, Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea (WPS) Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is tapping some Chinese fishing boats to amplify its presence as it claims almost the entirety of the SCS.

Trinidad made this remark as he confirmed the presence of the two Chinese fishing boats from 32 nautical miles within the east coast of Casiguran, Aurora. 

He said the fishing boats are just among other foreign ships being monitored in the maritime traffic within the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). 

“No special attention was given, considering that we got the report yesterday afternoon, fishing boats, and again, there are hundreds of fishing boats around the country. Unless there is a more detailed report on what we have to focus on,” he said. 

Trinidad lamented they “don’t give special attention” to those vessels being categorized as “normal fishing boats,” and the navy sees their presence as part of the maritime traffic of the Philippine EEZ. 

Unlike the Chinese Maritime Militia (CMM) vessels, which were massively swarming in the WPS, Trinidad said the normal fishing boats are seen outside the EEZ.

“Our monitoring tells us that CMMVs are in the West Philippine Sea. Fishing vessels are all around. CMMVs are within WPS. Although on a normal day, these are fishing vessels that have been tapped to act as force multipliers of the PLA Navy,” he added.