Navy spots 2 more Chinese fishing vessels in Spratlys

The military has sighted two more Chinese fishing vessels in the vicinity of Parola Island, one of the islands at the western edge of the Philippine-claimed Kalayaan Island Group in the South China Sea.

According to reports that reached Camp Aguinaldo yesterday, two Hainan-type fishing vessels were anchored some 1.5 nautical miles east of Parola, also known as North East Cay. They were spotted by a Navy surveillance plane at 11:30 a.m. on Feb. 26, Western Command chief Maj. Gen. Santiago Madrid said in a report.

The island is some 140 nautical miles from Puerto Princesa, Palawan.

Earlier, two Hong Kong fishing boats were spotted arriving off Lankiam Cay and Nanshan Island and have remained there.

The report also said the two Vietnamese vessels spotted on Feb. 24 by the Navy anchored four nautical miles from Commodore Reef have already left at around 4:20 p.m. on Monday. The report made no mention of any action taken against the foreign vessels.

In the past, the Navy had either rammed, chased or detained Chinese fishing vessels which intruded into Philippine-claimed areas in the Spratly Group of Islands, drawing formal protests and warnings from Beijing.

Vietnam and China have overlapping claims with the Philippines and three other countries over the Spratlys, which lie close to major sea routes and are believed to sit on vast mineral deposits.

Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan also claim all or part of the Spratlys or its surrounding waters.

Lankiam Cay, Nanshan and Parola Islands are among the eight islands outcrops garrisoned by Philippine troops.