THE number of Chinese Maritime Militia (CMM) ships in the Ayungin Shoal area is increasing, the Philippine Navy said on Tuesday.
In a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo, Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, Navy spokesman for the West Philippine Sea (WPS), said 41 CMM vessels were spotted around the shoal from August 13 to 19.
From August 6 to 12, only six CMMs were seen in the area.
Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, Navy spokesman for the West Philippine Sea (WPS). PHOTO BY MIKE ALQUINTO
“I don’t want to speculate about their presence in Ayungin Shoal,” Trinidad said when asked about the reason for the increase of CMM ships.
BRP Sierra Madre has remained grounded since 1999 in Ayungin Shoal, manned by dozens of elite composite troops.
Resupply missions to BRP Sierra Madre have fueled tensions between Manila and Beijing. The most violent confrontation, which took place last June 17, resulted in one Philippine Navy personnel losing his finger, the seizure of seven firearms, and the slight destruction of two navy hull boats.
Beijing aggressively claims nearly the entire South China Sea, parts of which Manila calls the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
Despite the 2016 arbitral award granting the Philippines sovereign rights and jurisdiction over its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ), China continues to assert its expansive claim.
On Monday, the Philippine Coast Guard said its vessels BRP Bagacay and BRP Cape Engaño encountered what they call “unlawful and aggressive maneuvers” by China Coast Guard vessels in the Escoda Shoal, damaging both Philippine vessels.
Trinidad said that the ramming incident in the Escoda Shoal was “illegal.”
“Their actions are coercive and aggressive, their messages deceptive,” Trinidad said. “This is the cause of all dynamics in the West Philippine Sea.”
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