More than 100 Chinese vessels monitored in West PH Sea in September, says Navy

MANILA, October 11 ------ More than 100 Chinese vessels were monitored in the West Philippine Sea in the month of September, an official from the Philippine Navy said. This is almost double the 56 vessels monitored in August this year. "Ang nais nilang makamtan dito is or we could only surmise that based on their posture, they will be focusing on enforcing maritime law, iyong maling pananaw nila sa maritime law utilizing ang China Coast Guard ships para i-push nila ang kanilang mandato," said Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, Philippine Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea.

Trinidad says most of the ships were seen in the usual parts of the WPS including near Pag-asa Island and Escoda Shoal. Trinidad added that this data will help them in deploying assets to ensure continuous presence in the WPS. "Kung may nakikita naman tayo, hindi naman ibig sabihin sila lang ang nandoon. It will also help us drive our deployment schedule. So tatapatan natin iyan sapagkat ang ang gusto nga nila is kapag nandoon sila, wala tayo," Trinidad said. "That's why kung makita ninyo may mga coercive and aggressive action na ginagawa laban sa atin. But in spite of all of this, hindi tayo pinanghihinaan ng loob. We will match them hanggang kaya natin ship for ship, patrol for patrol. Iyong mga maling naratibo nila, kinokorek natin sa tamang naratibo," he added.

He said maritime and even aerial patrols will continue to assert the country's sovereign rights in the area. "Ito ay magpapatuloy in spite of all the coercive and aggressive actions being conducted against us sapagkat ito ay mandato natin. Magpapatuloy ang inyong AFP sa pag-conduct ng mandato natin," he ended.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com