Over 11K foreign vessels monitored in WPS in February

A total of 11,287 vessels were monitored within the country’s exclusive economic zone in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) from 1 to 28 February, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) reported Tuesday.

AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said that out of this figure, 2,032 were domestic vessels, while 9,255 were foreign vessels.

Among these vessels were nine People’s Liberation Army (PLA)-Navy and two China Coast Guard vessels sighted in Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal).

Seven PLA-Navy and one CCG vessel were spotted in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal.

Padilla said no Chinese vessel was monitored in Sabina (Escoda) Shoal.

“The AFP remains dedicated to addressing current challenges and anticipating future threats, ensuring regional stability and defending Philippine maritime interests,” she said.

Meanwhile, Navy spokesperson for WPS, Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, said the recorded number of vessels was “fairly constant” compared to monitored vessels in January.

Trinidad clarified that the marine traffic monitored in WPS also includes merchant vessels from all over the world.

“These are Panama, Costa Rica, and others. I have to check to be more specific...Chinese would only be a very small number,” he said.

Trinidad maintained the illegal presence of Chinese vessels in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

“There was no suspicious activity but their presence itself is already illegal,” he said.

Trinidad expressed no alarm despite the presence of the gray ships in the disputed Ayungin Shoal.

“The presence of the seven Philippine Navy warships in Ayungin Shoal is not a number that was monitored every day. Over a period of one month, seven different warships were monitored. Some of them would stay for one week,” he said.

“Others would stay one day or would just pass through the area which is not alarming considering that the presence in Ayungin Shoal is already fairly constant because of the close proximity of Mischief Reef, which is only 20 nautical miles from Ayungin Shoal,” he added.

He said the gray ships monitored in Ayungin Shoal were “not necessarily” seen as a permanent Chinese presence for the entire month.

“At any one time, there will be two or three, and then they get replaced by another warship,” he pointed out.

Trinidad noted the Philippine Navy has a regular patrol plan.

“We keep challenging them each time we monitor a warship, not only in Ayungin Shoal but even all over the West Philippine Sea,” he added.