CHINESE naval activity near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, known locally as Bajo de Masinloc, has surged after a brief lull due to severe weather in mid-July, according to the Philippine Navy.
Seven China Coast Guard and navy vessels were monitored at the shoal last week, marking a resurgence in Chinese presence after a three-day absence from July 19 to 21, Philippine Navy spokesman Rear Admiral Roy Vincent T. Trinidad said on Tuesday.
“During the height of the inclement weather, there were no monitored ships in Bajo de Masinloc,” he told a news briefing.
The pause in Chinese patrols coincided with a series of storms and southwest monsoon rains that swept across the Philippines, including Severe Tropical Storm Wipha (Crising) and Tropical Storms Francisco (Dante) and Co-may (Emong).
Mr. Trinidad earlier noted that China typically intensifies its activities in contested areas once storms subside.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea under its controversial nine-dash line — an assertion rejected by the Philippines and other Southeast Asian nations such as Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei, whose exclusive economic zones are affected.
In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines, voided China’s sweeping claims. However, Beijing has refused to recognize the ruling and continues to maintain a heavy presence in disputed areas, including the Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal.
The Philippine military also tracked six Chinese vessels at Second Thomas Shoal — four China Coast Guard ships and two People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels.
The shoal, known locally as Ayungin, is where the Philippines has maintained a presence since 1999 by grounding the BRP Sierra Madre, a World War II-era ship, to assert its claim.
Mr. Trinidad also reported a Chinese Coast Guard vessel and a warship near Thitu Island, another Philippine-held feature in the Spratlys, as well as a lone naval warship at Sabina Shoal, a strategic waypoint used for resupply missions to the BRP Sierra Madre.
Thitu Island or Pag-asa is the largest Philippine-occupied island in the Spratlys and a focal point of regional maritime tensions involving China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan. Sabina Shoal, meanwhile, lies near areas believed to hold significant undersea oil and gas deposits.
Mr. Trinidad said the latest deployment closely resembles Chinese naval activity seen earlier this month. “Compared with the period covering July 14 to 20, it is roughly the same,” he noted.
The Philippine military earlier said Chinese ship presence in disputed waters spiked to 49 in June, compared with an average of 29 China Coast Guard and PLAN vessels per month in the first half.
The Philippines and the US this month affirmed their commitment to boosting deterrence measures in the South China Sea amid China’s increasing assertiveness in the contested waterway.
Philippine National Security Adviser Eduardo M. Año met with US Secretary of State Marco Antonio Rubio in Washington, DC, where both sides discussed efforts to deepen their alliance and expand cooperation in defense and security.
The meeting came as both countries aim to counter increasingly aggressive Chinese activities in the region, including the deployment of China Coast Guard and maritime militia vessels near Philippine-occupied features.
The 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty obligates both nations to come to each other’s aid in case of an armed attack in the Pacific area, including the South China Sea.
Relations between the two countries have strengthened under President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., who has taken a more assertive stance against Beijing’s maritime claims.
The Philippines has increasingly leaned on multinational cooperation to shore up its maritime defenses. It has participated in more frequent joint patrols and multilateral naval exercises in the South China Sea, often alongside US forces and other regional partners.
Multinational military cooperation, once rare in the contested waters, is fast becoming routine. Earlier this year, the Philippines conducted trilateral air and sea patrols with the US and Australia. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio
