FLAG OF RESISTANCE A fisherman waves the Philippine flag near a “payao,” or artificial reef close to Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal in the West Philippines Sea to display resistance to Chinese incursions and to show other foreign vessels passing through the area that these waters
are part of the country’s exclusive economic zone. —PHOTO FROM BIGKIS
MANILA, Philippines — There is a substantial decrease of Chinese vessels and warships in the West Philippine Sea amid ongoing talks between Manila and Beijing weeks after the latest violent confrontation in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal.
Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, said there was a total of 95 China Coast Guard (CCG) ships, Chinese maritime militia (CMM) vessels, and People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) warships from June 25 to July 1.
Of the 95 Chinese ships, most were found in Pagasa (Thitu) Island where 20 CMM vessels as well as a CCG vessel and a PLA-N warship were found.
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Also, 12 other CCG ships, five other PLA-N warships, and 56 CMM vessels were also found in seven maritime features in the West Philippine Sea.
The Chinese assets logged in the latest monitoring period saw a drastic decrease compared to a total of 129 CCG ships, CCM vessels and PLA-N warships on June 18 to June 24.
Asked for the reason behind the decrease, Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, said this will be subject to further assessment.
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“We don’t want to speculate on the reduction. Suffice it to say, we have monitored a reduction on a week to week basis of our monitoring, for whatever reason this will be subject to further assessments,” Trinidad said in a regular briefing in Camp Aguinaldo on Tuesday morning when asked if the reported bilateral consultation mechanism (BCM) led to this development.
On Tuesday afternoon, Department of Foreign Affairs chief Enrique Manalo confirmed that talks were underway between Manila and Beijing to manage the tension in the South China Sea, according to a Reuters report.
The talks came after the June 17 incident in a naval outpost in Ayungin Shoal where China Coast Guard personnel rammed, towed, and even boarded Philippine Navy boats during the resupply mission there, which the Philippine military said led to what they deem as “looting” and even caused serious injuries to one of its naval personnel.
READ: 8 PH Navy men injured; one had finger cut off
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Beijing asserts sovereignty in almost the entire South China Sea, including most of the West Philippine Sea, even if such a claim has been effectively invalidated by the arbitral award issued in July 2016.
The landmark ruling stemmed from a case filed by Manila in 2013, or a year after its tense standoff with Beijing over Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, whose lagoon the latter now has an effective control of.
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