Philippine Navy Monitored 56 Chinese Vessels in the West Philippine Sea in August

The Philippine Navy monitored 56 Chinese coast guard and naval vessels around four features in the West Philippine Sea during August, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said.

The monthly count covered Panatag, or Scarborough, Shoal; Ayungin, or Second Thomas, Shoal; Escoda, or Sabina, Shoal; and Pag-asa, or Thitu, Island. It included Chinese naval vessels that did not appear in the military’s tally for the previous week.

“

Yes… we mentioned last week that monitoring over a one-week period is still not sufficient to give us a good ground for assessment

At Panatag, the Navy recorded 23 Chinese vessels, including nine People’s Liberation Army Navy ships and 14 China Coast Guard vessels. At Ayungin, it counted 18 vessels, one from the PLAN and 17 from the coast guard.

“

Before we give any assessment, we would like to look at it from a bigger perspective so that we could give a more accurate assessment

The Navy also monitored nine vessels around Escoda Shoal, including four PLAN ships and five coast guard vessels. At Pag-asa, the largest Philippine-held feature in the Kalayaan Island Group, it spotted six Chinese vessels, one PLAN ship and five coast guard vessels.

Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad said a one-week monitoring period could not provide a sufficient basis for assessment. The military said it wanted a broader picture of Chinese maritime activity in areas within the Philippines’ maritime domain and would need another month or three months of data before judging whether the figures reflected a specific trend.

“

Probably after a month or three months, we could give a better appreciation, a better assessment