A former US Air Force colonel and a security analyst posted a photo of Mischief Reef (Panganiban Reef) with two People’s Liberation Army-Navymissile boats on the illegally occupied islaand.
Raymond Powell, director of SeaLight at the Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, said on a Twitter post that aside fromthe missile boats, 75 to 80 militia and fishing vessels were also visible as of Aug. 16 at Mischief Reef, which the Chinese illegally occupied in 1995.
Powell said most of the ships that were at Mischief Reef would probably not take part in a blockade that the Chinese coast guard wants to enforce on Ayungin Shoal, where there is a small contingent of Marines on the BRP Sierra Madre, that was deliberately grounded to serve as an outpost.
He said there were probably Chinese Coast Guard ships in the area, but none of them have turned on their automatic information system (AIS).
“PLA Navy ships never broadcast AIS, so we seldom know where they are,” Powell said.
“I think there are still CCG ships in the area, but none have turned on their AIS so it’s hard to say how many. My guess is fewer than the 6 that were there before, since I don’t think they plan to keep so many there all the time. Many of the militia ships also rotated back to Hainan Island,” Powell added.
Powell also identified the ships that were frequently taking part in Chinese militia blockade of Ayungin Shoal against Filipino fishing vessels and Coast Guard ships.
“The 11 Qiong Sansha Yu ships are of the type that frequently take part in blockade operations at Ayungin Shoal,” Powell said.
Earlier, the AFP spokesperson, Col. Medel Aguilar told the Chinese Coast Guard to “behave” as they will conduct a next resupply mission for the Filipino troops stationed at the BRP Sierra Madre located at the Ayungin Shoal.
“We therefore call on all relevant parties to abide by their obligations under international law and respect the Philippines’ sovereign rights and jurisdiction over its maritime shoals,” AFP spokesperson Col. Medel Aguilar said in a media forum.
“All the consequences that their singular act will do, the blame will be to them and to the authorities above them. So they should behave,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Tarlac City-based Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) announced that its littoral monitoring detachments have so far detected 22,474 foreign and domestic vessels in its maritime areas.
In a news release, Nolcom acting public affairs office chief Maj. Al Anthony Pueblas said these detections were made possible by their monitoring detachments strategically positioned in Bani, Zambales; Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte; Batan and Mavulis, both in Batanes.
“Nolcom will continue to launch maritime patrols (MarPat) in collaboration with key government agencies such as the Philippine Coast Guard and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to ensure the safety of our fellow Filipinos, specially our fishermen and protect our marine resources for the benefit of current and future generations,” Nolcom chief Lt. Gen. Fernyl Buca said.
MarPat is a Nolcom routine security patrol which covers three maritime areas—Bajo De Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal) in the West Philippine Sea, Philippine (Benham) Rise) and the Batanes Strait.