PH Navy: 98 Chinese ships detected in WPS

THE PHILIPPINE Navy (PN) monitored 98 Chinese vessels of various kinds in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) from May 7 to 13.

Based on the data from the PN released on Wednesday, these sightings can be broken down into the following:

--eight China Coast Guard Vessels (CCGVs), two People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) ships and 18 Chinese maritime militia vessels (CMMVs) in Bajo de Masinloc;

--six CCGVs and 25 CMMVs in Ayungin Shoal;

--two CCGVs, two PLAN ships and 24 CMMVs in Pagasa Island;

--one PLAN and two CMMVs in Kota Island;

--one CMMV in Likas Island;

--four CMMVs in Panata Island;

--two CMMVs and one Chinese cargo ship in Patag Island.

These are lower than the 105 Chinese vessels sighted in these features from April 30 to May 6.

"There was a decrease from the previous week, from 129 pre-'Balikatan' to 108 just after 'Balikatan', down to 98 as of yesterday (Monday) so we see a downward trend," said Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad, Navy spokesperson for the WPS. (Priam Nepomuceno)