AFP: 101 Chinese vessels monitored in WPS in September

The Armed Forces of the Philippines monitored 101 Chinese vessels across key features in the West Philippine Sea in September, nearly double the 56 recorded in August.

Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, AFP spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, said Tuesday that the vessels belonged to the China Coast Guard and People’s Liberation Army Navy.

“Based on our report, we monitored 101 different ships from the China Coast Guard and the PLA Navy across four main features that we keep a close monitoring,” Trinidad said during a virtual briefing with the Defense Press Corps.

From 1 to 30 September, the AFP monitored 14 China Coast Guard vessels and nine PLA Navy ships near Ayungin Shoal.

At Bajo de Masinloc, it recorded 25 coast guard vessels and 14 naval ships, while seven coast guard vessels and four naval ships were monitored near Escoda Shoal.

Around Pag-asa Island, the AFP recorded 23 China Coast Guard vessels and five PLA Navy ships.

Trinidad said the military was not yet drawing conclusions on the increase from August.

“I would not like to give an assessment yet, probably by the end of the year, wherein we could look at a longer period of time, a six-month time frame,” he said.

China claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, including areas within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have overlapping claims in parts of the strategic waterway.