The Philippine Navy debunked on Sunday the recent announcement by China that it conducted military exercises off Bajo de Masinloc, also known as Scarborough Shoal, in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
China reportedly made the announcement coinciding with the fourth Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity between the Philippines, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and the United States within Manila’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the regional waters over the weekend.
Philippine Navy Spokesperson for WPS Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad told reporters that Manila troops did not monitor any such activity, adding that Beijing’s statement was meant only for its internal audience.
“Our troops did not observe any exercise, we have to understand that sometimes, China is doing this for their internal audience, right? For them not to look weak and embarrassed,” Trinidad said.
Two Chinese warships were monitored at a distance ranging from eight to 14 nautical miles. One of these went up to 1,000 yards at the MMCA site but eventually went away. “It was not threatening, just normal,” according to the spokesperson.
Despite the warship sighting, Trinidad said China acted professional enough during the MMCA exercises.
Trinidad, however, said that despite the sighting of Chinese warships in MMCA, China acted professionally during the said exercises.
“We could see that they were monitoring visually and by other means… They acted in a professional manner. So, this adds [to the theory] that if we have MMCA, they behave accordingly,” he noted.
Bajo de Masinloc, a fish-rich reef, is about 240 kilometers west of the Philippines’ main island of Luzon and nearly 900 kilometers from Hainan, the nearest major Chinese land mass.
China claims almost the entire WPS or South China Sea. In 2016, the Philippines won an arbitration case against China. The Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that China has no legal basis for claiming the maritime zones in its entirety.
China can easily deploy its navy, coast guard, and militia vessels because of the seven artificial islands it has reclaimed in the South China Sea — Fiery Cross Reef (Kagitingan Reef), Johnson South Reef (Mabini Reef), Gaven Reef, Cuarteron (Calderon Reef) Reef, McKennan Reef (Chigua/Hughes Reef), Mischief Reef (Panganiban Reef), and Subi Reef (Zamora Reef). Within the Philippine EEZ China occupies Mabini, Chingua and Panganiban Reefs.
In the tracking done by Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), at Mischief Reef, two of the four structures have been completed, with covers already placed over the systems installed there.
Satellite images of the reef from AMTI show that there were already air strips, a couple of base camps and even docking ports for ships.
AMTI said that China modified its blueprint for their facility on Johnson Reef. The said reef is a rock located in the Kalayaan Island Group which China took possession of in 1988.
Satellite images from AMTI also show that the reclaimed reef already has ports and military camps.
McKenna Reef (Hughes/Chigua Reef) meanwhile has already a -storey building, a port facility with one jetty and one pier that can cater to a 130 meter ship, according to Carpio.
“China has built nearly identical headquarters buildings at each of its four smaller artificial islands. The two smallest of the islets, Hughes and Gaven Reefs, feature four arms built off of these central structures. The end of each of these arms sports a hexagonal platform, approximately 30 feet wide.” AMTI said.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline: “No military drills by China in Bajo de Masinloc”
