This March 2021 photo shows almost 200 Chinese vessels in the waters off Julian Felipe (Whitsun) Reef in the West Philippine Sea. - Contributed photo
MANILA: The Philippine Navy has counted more than 200 Chinese vessels swarming areas in the West Philippine Sea, its spokesperson said on Tuesday (Jan 30).
Navy spokesperson for West Philippine Sea Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad said that based on their latest monitoring, around 200 vessels were operated by Chinese maritime militia, 15 to 25 ships from the People’s Liberation Army-Navy, and 10 to 15 vessels from the China Coast Guard.
Trinidad, however, quickly explained in a press briefing that “at any one time, it is difficult to give [an] exact number, considering the ships there are in constant motion.”
Armed Forces of the Philippines Western Command chief Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos said that over 400 foreign vessels were observed in the West Philippine Sea in 2023, but 85 per cent were from China.
Also last year, Carlos noted the growing number of Chinese vessels swarming various areas in the West Philippine Sea.
Carlos said in November that the military marked a bigger presence of Chinese maritime militia ships at Rozul (Iroquois) Reef and near Kalayaan town’s Pag-asa Island.
Pag-asa, also called Thitu Island, is located some 480km west of this city, Palawan’s provincial capital. It is the largest of the nine features occupied by the Philippines in the Spratly Islands. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
