China says 4 patrol ships in West Phl Sea back in Guangzhou

MANILA, Philippines - Four Chinese ships returned to China on Sunday after conducting patrol operations in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), the Chinese government said.

In a report posted on its government web portal yesterday, China said the team, consisting of four China Marine Surveillance (CMS) ships, patrolled dozens of islets and reefs in the West Philippine Sea and conducted a formation practice near the islands they call Nansha and Zhongsha in adverse weather conditions.

“A Chinese patrol team returned to Guangzhou on Sunday after covering 2,800 nautical miles in the South China Sea to carry out regular observation and patrol operations,” the Chinese government said.

The report quoted Wang Yun, captain of Haijian 83, as saying that the vessels reached as far as 47.5 degrees north latitude and 108.35 degrees east longitude since their departure from south China’s coastal city of Sanya on June 26.

The CMS ships are under management of the State Oceanic Administration. They have performed regular patrols and law-enforcement activities in waters under China’s jurisdiction since 2006.

The four Chinese patrol ships conducted a formation practice in the West Philippine Sea amid the tense territorial row between the Philippines and China.

According to an earlier report on the Chinese government’s web portal, four CMS ships conducted a formation practice near Yongshu Reef in the West Philippine Sea.

The CMS patrol, the report said, sailed from Sanya on June 26 to the South China Sea to conduct regular operations, traveling more than 2,400 nautical miles (4,500 km) during the patrols.

The ships reached Huayang Reef, a coral reef in the Nansha Islands, on July 1 and anchored northeast of Yongshu Reef, after covering a distance of 1,800 nautical miles.

China is studying the setting up of a military body in its newly established city of Sansha that administers Chinese territory in the West Philippine Sea in response to Beijing’s claim of provocation by neighboring countries and to safeguard its interests in the disputed waters.