AFP says it monitored 26 Chinese vessels in West PH Sea this week

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine military monitored 26 Chinese navy and coast guard vessels in key areas of the disputed West Philippine Sea this week, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said on Tuesday.

Philippine Navy Public Affairs chief Capt. Marie Angelica Sisican said the vessels included 4 People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) ships and 22 China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels monitored from July 21 to 26 near Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, Escoda (Sabina) Shoal and Pag-asa (Thitu) Island.

“No other untoward incidents were reported during the said period,” Sisican said in a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

The largest concentration was recorded at Scarborough, where the Philippine Navy monitored 13 CCG vessels. The shoal lies about 220 kilometers west of Luzon, well within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ). It has remained under Chinese control since a 2012 standoff.

Another 9 Chinese vessels — two PLAN warships and seven CCG vessels — were monitored at Second Thomas Shoal. The low-tide elevation lies about 194 kilometers west of Palawan.

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The Navy also tracked one CCG vessel at Sabina Shoal. The feature lies about 195 kilometers west of Palawan.

One CCG vessel was monitored near Thitu Island. The island lies about 528 kilometers west of Palawan.

China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea, waters in the western portion of the country’s 370-kilometer EEZ.

Beijing continues to ignore a 2016 ruling by an international arbitral tribunal that nullified its claims and upheld Manila’s sovereign rights over these waters. /mr