THE Philippine Navy yesterday said it has monitored 251 Chinese vessels at several features in the West Philippine Sea from September 17 to 23, about a third of them at Escoda Shoal, also known as Sabina Shoal.

It is the highest so far this year but the situation is not alarming, said Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, Navy spokesman for the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

Trinidad said the number is within the “force projection capability” of the South Sea Fleet, China’s military unit operating in the South China Sea. This means the Fleet has deployed only its vessels and has not tapped assets of other military units.

“This is the largest increase. From 157, it went down a bit, then it went up to 251. For whatever reason, I don’t want to speculate on that,” he said in a briefing.

There were 157 vessels in the previous one-week monitoring period.

Trinidad said the military is still able to move freely inside the country’s 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone.

The breakdown of Chinese vessels currently deployed in the WPS are 204 maritime militia ships, 28 from the coast guard, 16 from the Navy, and three research vessels.

Of the 251, 82 were sighted at Escoda Shoal during the week, up from 65 the previous week. The 82 is broken down into 55 maritime militia, 16 Coast Guard and 11 Navy vessels.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) deployed one of its ships, BRP Teresa Magbanua, to the shoal in April after the discovery of piled-up corals, seen as an indication of China’s reclamation activities. BRP Teresa Magbanua was pulled out from the shoal last September 14 primarily due to bad weather. Officials declined to say if a replacement vessel is already in the area.

The Navy said 72 Chinese vessels were monitored at Ayungin Shoal (up from 17) and 38 at Iroquois Reef (from 17). The rest of the Chinese vessels were monitored at Paga-asa Island (23), Julian Felipe Reef (17), Scarborough Shoal (12), Likas Island (three), and Panata island (two).

Trinidad, asked if the Philippines has presence at Escoda Shoal following the pull out of BRP Teresa Magbanua, Trinidad said:  “Not only in Sabina. We have our presence based on the CADC (Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept) all over the vast expanse of West Philippine Sea.”

Pressed if the replacement vessel is already at the shoal, Trinidad said: “I’ll have to check on the details. Again, we usually do not give out details or particular names or bow number of ships. It’s part of the approach that we have today. Rest assured that we continue monitoring the entire West Philippine Sea.”

He said the Chinese are not in de facto control of Escoda, noting the military is still able to “continue monitoring our mandate.”

“We have patrol missions by sea and by air not only in Escoda but all over our features in the West Philippine Sea,” Trinidad said.

He also noted that Filipino fishermen can still freely fish at the vicinity of the shoal, though he acknowledged that the area is not a rich fishing ground.

Trinidad said the military will continue “pushing back” against the illegal presence and coercive and aggressive actions of China in the area.

Pressed if driving away the Chinese is an option, Trinidad said: “There are many approaches that could be taken. We haven’t exhausted yet all approaches.”

Earlier reports said a Chinese helicopter tailed a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) aircraft conducting patrol over Scarborough Shoal last Saturday.

The Harbin Z-9 helicopter was believed to have been deployed by China from a guided missile destroyer that was monitored some 25 nautical miles from the shoal. The helicopter came as close as six meters to the BFAR vessel.

Trinidad declined to discuss details of the incident, saying it’s up to the BFAR to disclose information about the harassment but said the incident put at risk the lives of the pilots and passengers of the BFAR aircraft.

On Monday, American maritime expert Ray Powell disclosed that a Chinese survey ship, escorted by six maritime militia vessels, conducted a survey some 27 nautical miles off Palawan.

Trinidad said the AFP Western Command (Wescom) sent three Navy ships and one Coast Guard to the area.

“It so happened when they got to the vicinity, the research vessel was not there anymore. Our tracking is it exited southwest from the last reported position,” he said.

“As of yesterday, the report from Wescom is that they (Chinese vessels) are no longer in the area,” said Trinidad.