The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has lashed out against China’s latest claim that a Philippine frigate illegally intruded into Scarborough Shoal in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
The Southern Theater Command of the People’s Liberation Army Navy recently reported that the Philippine Navy’s BRP Apolinario Mabini — referred to as “Philippine Corvette 36” — “illegally entered the territorial waters of China’s Huangyan Dao” on 20 April, a day before Manila and Washington officially opened the annual Balikatan Exercise.
AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla stressed that the Philippines has the legal right to exercise, navigate, and patrol within its territorial waters or exclusive economic zone (EEZ) without approval from any other country.
“We sail by right, not by permission. Our Navy is patrolling Philippine Waters. We are conducting our regular patrols,” Padilla told DAILY TRIBUNE on Tuesday, after China claims its naval forces have “tracked, monitored, and warned off the corvette according to law.”
Padilla criticized the Chinese Communist Party’s “pattern of disinformation and baseless propaganda” to assert its sweeping claims over the South China Sea, which encroaches on the WPS.
“These are just routine patrols. The rest? Just another chapter in CCP's fiction series,” she added.
Scarborough Shoal — also known as Bajo de Masinloc or Panatag Shoal — lies 124 nautical miles from Masinloc, Zambales, and falls within the Philippines’ 200‑nautical‑mile EEZ.
The AFP said BRP Apolinario Mabini’s presence near Scarborough Shoal is part of its maritime obligation to patrol Philippine waters.
“The Philippine Navy's BRP Apolinario Mabini (PS-36) conducted a routine and lawful maritime patrol in the vicinity of Bajo de Masinloc (BDM) in accordance with the Philippine Constitution and Republic Act 12064 or the Philippine Maritime Zones Act, and consistent with international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 Arbitral Award,” the AFP stated.
Despite China’s intrusion claim, the AFP said its vessel “traveled on its planned route and completed its mission.”
In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines, stating that China’s claims have no legal basis. Beijing rejected the ruling and continues to maintain a presence in the area.
To safeguard territorial integrity, the AFP — through the Philippine Navy and Air Force — continues maritime and air patrols across all key features within the Philippine EEZ.
The AFP emphasized that Bajo de Masinloc is an “integral part of the Philippine national territory under the Constitution.”
“The Philippines exercises sovereignty over the shoal and its territorial sea. The Philippines also has sovereign rights and jurisdiction in the waters adjacent to the shoal, which form part of the Philippine EEZ,” it said.
The AFP reiterated its commitment to defend the country’s “sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction” and to uphold “a rules‑based international order.”