23 Chinese boats inside Panatag's lagoon

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Navy on Tuesday reported that a total of 28 Chinese ships and boats are still in the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, 23 of which were inside the lagoon.

The Navy’s aerial surveillance revealed that six fishing vessels and 17 dinghies or small boats are inside the lagoon.

Navy chief Vice Admiral Alexander Pama said the remaining vessels - three Chinese maritime surveillance vessels (CMS) and two fishery and law enforcement command ships - are outside the lagoon.

The aerial surveillance was conducted by a Navy islander plane last Monday, the same day the Department of Foreign Affairs announced that China had pulled out its vessels from the lagoon.

Pama, however, said the DFA’s statement may have been based on previous reports.

The DFA, meanwhile, said in a statement that its earlier report was based on the information from the Philippine Navy "as of two days ago."

"The Chinese boats have obviously returned," the DFA said.

Pama said that China is merely rotating its vessels in the area, which is well within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

He said that there are also indications that Chinese boats are conducting fishing activities in the area despite the fishing ban separately declared by China and the Philippines last month.

“Apparently that’s (fishing) what they are doing in that area,” Pama said when asked if China is violating its own fishing ban.

He said no local fishing boats were spotted in the area due to the fishing ban imposed by the Philippine government.

Despite the continued presence of Chinese vessels in the shoal, it remains unclear whether the Philippines would send back ships to the area.

“There are no instructions yet (to send back ships to the shoal). But in fairness, the weather is bad. The waves are huge. Our ships may not be able to handle it,” said Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin.

The Panatag Shoal is located 124 nautical miles from the nearest base point in Zambales.

It is within the Philippines’ 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone as provided by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to which China is a signatory.

A standoff ensued in April 10 after Chinese maritime surveillance ships stopped the Philippine Navy from arresting Chinese fishermen engaged in illegal fishing and harvesting or endangered species in the area.

The Philippines has protested the Chinese vessels’ action but China has insisted that it has sovereignty over the area.

Both countries support peaceful means to resolve the dispute despite reports of bullying by Chinese ships of Filipino vessels and fishermen.

On June 15, President Aquino directed two Philippine ships to pull out of Panatag Shoal due to bad weather.

Ordered to return to port were a Coast Guard ship and a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources vessel, which have symbolized the country’s claim over the area.

DFA Secretary Albert del Rosario said they would evaluate whether the ships would be sent back to the shoal once the weather improves.

The DFA had also claimed that China would also pull out its ships but this was later denied by Beijing.

Last Monday, the DFA said China had pulled out all is boats from the shoal’s lagoon following an agreement with the Philippines that sought to ease tensions in the area.

Del Rosario said China and the Philippines had reached a verbal agreement to pull out from the lagoon but not the wider vicinity of the shoal. He said all Chinese boats had left the lagoon as of Saturday.

When asked whether he believes China lied to the Philippines about the vessels inside the lagoon, Gazmin said: “We don’t want to react on that but what we are giving you are the factual operational report.”

A military source who requested anonymity said the presence of Chinese fishermen in the area is a source for concern since they are destroying corals and poaching endangered marine species.

“We should be concerned about the environmental degradation in the area,” the source said.