AFP: 20 Chinese coast guard, naval ships monitored in West Philippine Sea in first week of December

MANILA, December 14 ------ Twenty ships of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy and China Coast Guard (CCG) were monitored in features in the West Philippine Sea in the first week of December, the Philippine Navy said.

In a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said two PLA Navy warships and five CCG ships were seen in Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal. Additional sightings included one PLA Navy vessel and six CCG ships in Ayungin Shoal, and one PLA Navy warship and two CCG vessels in Escoda Shoal or Sabina Shoal.

The official noted that two PLA Navy warships and one CCG ship were monitored in the vicinity of Pag-asa Island. Trinidad said the presence of 101 Chinese maritime militia vessels spotted during a recent Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) maritime domain awareness (MDA) flight falls within the usual numbers seen in the West Philippine Sea.

According to Trinidad, about 300 to 350 Chinese maritime militia vessels are usually monitored in the West Philippine Sea at any given time. “The 101 is a normal number. It is not unusual to have this number in our features in the West Philippine Sea,” the official told reporters. “The Chinese maritime militia are double-hatted ships—sometimes they are fisherfolk, at times they are part of the Chinese military as their force multipliers,” he added.

The Philippine Navy also noted that the aggressive and coercive behavior of Chinese vessels have remained steady throughout the year. “The aggressive and coercive actions are fairly constant. There are ups and downs. We haven’t really plotted this on a year-to-year basis, but so long as their [Chinese vessels’] illegal presence will remain, the possibility for escalation and aggressive actions will always remain,” Trinidad said. He added that China’s behavior is not limited to encounters with Philippine forces. “They are being conducted not only against the AFP, but even against the militaries of Japan, Australia, New Zealand, the United States and other like-minded countries,” the official said.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com