MANILA, Philippines — A significant number of Chinese maritime vessels were spotted in the West Philippine Sea in six days, according to the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
The military’s data released on Tuesday said that there are a total of 92 Chinese maritime vessels spotted in different parts of the West Philippine Sea from August 6 to August 12.
The latest number of ships was lower than the 122 vessels recorded from July 30 to August 5.
The following are the number of vessels depending on their classification:
- Chinese Coast Guard: 13
- Peoples Liberation Army-Navy: 9
- Chinese Maritime Militia: 68
Two vessels are research ships. One research vessel, Ke Xue San Hao, has been tracked by the Philippine government as it repeatedly loitered the Sabina Shoal.
On Monday, retired US Air Force officer Ray Powell, director of maritime initiative SeaLight, said that China’s largest coast guard ship has left the Escoda Shoal.
However, it was replaced by another Coast Guard Vessel, which is stationed opposite the Philippine Coast Guard’s BRP Teresa Magbanua.
The Philippine government on August 12 filed a diplomatic protest concerning the recent incident involving a patrol aircraft of the Philippine Airforce and fighter jets of the China Air Force.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, rejecting the competing claims of several Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines.
It disregards the 2016 international ruling of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea that determined its claims to the West Philippine Sea have no legal basis.
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