The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) reported that it monitored 29 vessels from the China Coast Guard (CCG) and the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) as they passed through the West Philippine Sea (WPS) in October.
Philippine Navy spokesperson for the WPS Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad told the media there were 15 CCG and 14 PLAN ships.
“These 29 vessels were monitored transiting or passing through the vicinity of our features to include Bajo de Masinloc, Sabina Shoal, Julian Felipe Reef, and Iroquois Reef and were not stationary,” he said.
Overall in the same period, Trinidad said the AFP monitored 13,874 vessels passing all over the Philippine archipelago. “This maritime traffic was composed of 11,097 foreign and 2,777 domestic vessels,” he added.
He said the military’s monitoring is part of its mandate to protect national interests and secure Philippine waters.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. meanwhile responded to China›s recent claims in the WPS, stating they were “not unexpected” and highlighting the need for clearer maritime boundaries to ease tensions.
“We have to define them closely,” President Marcos said, referring to the ongoing regional disputes.
“We have to protect our sovereign, our sovereign rights, and our sovereignty, so it serves the purpose that we define closely what those boundaries are,” he added in a chance interview on Tuesday.
President Marcos’ remarks come shortly after the Chinese government reiterated its opposition to the Philippines’ new maritime law while declaring Beijing’s “baselines” for the territorial sea near Scarborough Shoal.
China’s foreign ministry accused Manila of reinforcing an “illegal arbitral award” regarding the South China Sea through domestic legislation, following President Marcos’s enactment of two laws that defined the Philippines’ maritime zones and archipelagic sea lanes and air routes to assert its rights over the West Philippine Sea.
Last week, Mr. Marcos signed two key laws aimed at strengthening the Philippines’ maritime rights: the Philippine Maritime Zone (PMZ) Act and the Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes (PASL) Act.
The PMZ Act establishes the legal boundaries of the Philippines’ maritime zones, aligning them with international law to protect the country’s territorial waters, exclusive economic zone (EEZ), and continental shelf.
This act is seen as a crucial step in asserting the Philippines’ jurisdiction over its waters amid territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
The PASL Act designates specific sea lanes for foreign vessels to navigate through Philippine archipelagic waters. The legislation aims to safeguard maritime security while ensuring freedom of navigation in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
The law allows the Philippines to control transit within its archipelagic waters and provides a framework for handling foreign vessels passing through designated routes.
