30 Chinese militia ships anchored in West Philippine Sea

MANILA, Philippines — At least 30 Chinese militia ships were spotted by the Philippine Coast Guard anchored in the West Philippine Sea during a PCG maritime domain awareness flight on Tuesday, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) reported.

In a statement yesterday, the NTF-WPS said the China Coast Guard (CCG) “continued to maintain its presence” in the West Philippine Sea where 26 suspected Chinese maritime militia vessels were anchored over Sabina Shoal and four others on Ayungin Shoal.

The CCG encroachment on Philippine waters continued “despite diplomatic protests filed by the Department of Foreign Affairs” over recent aggression of China, NTF-WPS said.

The task force said the PCG Cessna Caravan 2081, a multi-role fixed-wing aircraft, was conducting a maritime domain awareness flight over Ayungin and Sabina shoals when it observed CCG’s presence in Philippine waters.

The PCG is a member agency of the NTF-WPS.

The task force said that the PCG received “inaudible radio challenges” in English and Chinese languages from CCG-5304, which prompted the PCG to issue a radio challenge informing them that it is conducting the maritime domain awareness flight and directed the Chinese to leave.

It added that the PCG continued to radio its Chinese counterpart throughout the flight to leave Philippine territory immediately as “they are not authorized to loiter nor swarm these shoals.”

Coast Guard adviser for maritime security Commodore Jay Tarriela said in a recent interview that they are concerned about the presence of Chinese maritime militia swarming Philippine waters with as many as 150 vessels.

“So, this is the most significant observation that we also take note … data of National Task Force West Philippine Sea every time there are large number of maritime militia gathering in West Philippine Sea,” Tarriela said in mixed Filipino and English.

The PCG told The STAR there was an ongoing meeting yesterday evening when asked for further information, while Coast Guard spokesman Rear Admiral Armand Balilo was not available for comment.