THE Philippine Navy yesterday said it monitored on Sunday two Chinese fishing vessels near the Philippine Rise or Benham Rise, a vast undersea region east of Luzon.
This is “not alarming” as it was not the first time Chinese vessels were sighted in the area, said Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, Navy spokesman for the West Philippine Sea.
He also said fishing boats from other countries have also been sighted “all over our EEZ (exclusive economic zone), including ASEAN countries and the Pacific Island states.”
“We only give special attention if these are gray-hulled ships (Navy ships). If these are not gray-hulled ships, ships conducting fishing activities or others, we leave it to the proper government agency,” he said.
On the location of the Chinese vessels, Trinidad told a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo, “The report given yesterday (Monday) was 32 nautical miles.”
American maritime expert Ray Powell named the two Chinese fishing as Lu Rong Yu 51794 and Lu Yan Yuan Yu 017. He said the two vessels were operating “off the east coast of the Philippines, less than 20 nautical miles from the San Ildefonso Peninsula” as of yesterday morning.
The UN Commission of the Continental Shelf approved in 2012 the Philippine claim and declared Benham Rise as the Philippines’ extended continental shelf.
Trinidad said the military is not giving “special attention” to the presence of these Chinese fishing boats in the area.
Meanwhile, Trinidad said the Philippine military has so far conducted 10 multilateral cooperative activities (MMCAs) with the US and other like-minded nations in the West Philippine Sea this year, compared to just three last year.
Trinidad said the MCCAs forced a “temporary change in the behavior of PLA (People’s Liberation Army) Navy, Coast Guard, and maritime militia in the West Philippine Sea.”
“We have had less incidents of coercive and aggressive actions by the Chinese Coast Guard, the maritime militia, and less aggressive actions by the PLA Navy,” he said, without giving figures.
Asked how many more MMCAs will be conducted in the remaining two months of the year, he said an announcement will be made “the moment everything is finalize… if ever there will be.”
As to MMCAs next year, he said the information is not announced in advance.