Show of force: 203 China vessels spotted in West Philippine Sea

MANILA, Philippines — Chinese naval and civilian vessels in the West Philippine Sea made their biggest show of force this year, reaching 203 in the past seven days as against the 163 monitored the previous week, the Philippine Navy said yesterday.

“This is the highest we have recorded in the vicinity of our nine occupied features in WPS for this year. While it is not normal, it is within the range of the capability they could project in the South China Sea and/or the WPS,” Navy spokesman for the WPS Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad told reporters.

There were only 129 Chinese vessels of various types in Philippine waters from Aug. 13 to 19, Philippine Navy records showed.

Trinidad said the surge can be attributed to the attention received by the Escoda (Sabina) Shoal incidents in the past few weeks, where China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels repeatedly rammed the BRP Teresa Magbanua of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

Data provided by the Philippine Navy show that the increase in the number of Chinese vessels in the WPS is monitored mainly in three features.

In the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, 71 Chinese vessels were spotted between Aug.27 and Sept. 2 from only 52 the previous week. The latest figures include nine People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) ships, nine CCG boats and 53 maritime militia vessels (MMVs).

In the Pagasa Island area, there are now 52 Chinese vessels, including one PLAN ship and one CCG boat. The rest are MMVs.

And in the Rozul (Iroquois) Reef which forms part of the larger Recto Bank, there are now 36 MMVs as compared to only 17 the previous week.

In sum, the Philippine Navy said there were a total of 24 CCG boats, 12 PLAN ships, two research vessels and 165 MMVs spotted in the WPS from Aug. 27 to Sept. 2.