The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said it detected the presence of two China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels near the coastal municipality of Luna in La Union province on Monday.

PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea (WPS), Commodore Jay Tarriela, said the two CCG vessels were monitored about 70 to 75 nautical miles off Luna, La Union.

Tarriela said the PCG deployed the BRP Cabra and BRP Bagacay in the area to monitor the movement of the Chinese vessels with bow numbers 3301 and 3304.

These were initially seen about 34 nautical miles or 63 kilometers from shore on Sunday, 2 February, he added.

“That was the closest that we can say. But again, the difference between these two CCG vessels and that of the CCG monster ship is that their passage from 34 nautical miles was continuous. We detected that they got close like that, but they never stayed there for a long time,” Tarriela explained.

China and the Philippines are locking horns over overlapping territorial claims in the South China Sea and its portion, the WPS.

The conflict intensified after China’s expansive “nine-dash line” claim was invalidated by the 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling, which upheld the Philippines’ sovereign rights over its exclusive economic zone.

Despite this, China continues aggressive incursions, building artificial islands and deploying coast guard and maritime militia vessels near Philippine waters.