MANILA — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has reported the presence of 44 Chinese coast guard and naval vessels in several areas of the West Philippine Sea (WPS) from June 23 to 29, a notable rise from the 17 ships monitored the previous week.
AFP West Philippine Sea spokesperson Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said the vessels were tracked around Ayungin Shoal, Bajo de Masinloc, Escoda Shoal, and the Pag-asa Islands.
The breakdown of the monitored vessels showed:
Ayungin Shoal: Eight China Coast Guard ships and one People’s Liberation Army Navy vessel.
Bajo de Masinloc: Eighteen China Coast Guard vessels accompanied by nine PLAN warships.
Escoda Shoal: Two CCG vessels and two PLAN ships.
Pag-asa Islands: One CCG vessel and three PLAN vessels.
The AFP noted that the latest figure is substantially higher than the 17 Chinese vessels observed during the June 16 to 22 monitoring period.
Military officials had earlier explained that the reduced number of monitored Chinese vessels in the previous week was likely due to poor weather conditions affecting activities in the area.
elamigo/xf
