Chinese ships mooring in Julian Felipe Reef since December 2020 — report
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government recently confirmed that hundreds of Chinese vessels have been moored in Julian Felipe (Whitsun) Reef but the fleet has been arriving in the area since December, according to a report.
Satellite images released by US-based Simularity showed that a large number of Chinese ships have been "mooring, arriving and departing" at the coral reef since mid-December last year.
"Between March 23-24, 2021, Simularity counted approximately 200 vessels at Whitsun Reef, of which most are probable fishing vessels, and a few are probable Chinese Coast Guard vessels," the 20-page report read.
Simularity, a software company that checks for new satellite imagery of the South China Sea every week, documented the activity of Chinese ships on Julian Felipe Reef, which is well within Philippine exclusive economic zone.
Satellite images from December 2020 showed supposed fishing ships moored together with a width of up to 200 meters, making fishing impossible.
"The number of moored ships dips briefly in early February, but the number of ships arriving and departing is still substantial," Simularity reported.
On Sunday night, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. filed a diplomatic protest after the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea confirmed that 220 Chinese ships, believed to be part of Beijing's maritime militia, have been sighted in Julian Felipe Reef on March 7.
The West Philippine Sea is a part of the South China Sea that falls within Manila's exclusive economic zone.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines conducted a patrol afterwards and confirmed on Monday that at least 183 Chinese boats are still present in the area.
The Chinese Embassy in Manila, however, insisted that the ships were just "taking shelter" in the area and that no maritime militia was involved.
A few days after lodging a diplomatic protest, the Department of Foreign Affairs released a statement calling on Beijing to promptly withdraw its vessels in the area.
"We reiterate that the continued deployment, lingering presence and activities of Chinese vessels in Philippine maritime zones blatantly infringe upon Philippine sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction," the DFA said in a statement released March 23. — satellite images from European Space Agency — produced from ESA remote sensing data
The United States Navy's Nimitz-class nuclear powered supercarrier USS John C. Stennis continues underway in the South China Sea.
The US Pacific Command just reported that it has received "cargo" from support ship USNS Rainier in the disputed waters.
#GreatGreenFleet's USS @Stennis74 receives cargo from USNS #Rainier in the #SouthChinaSea - @US7thFleet pic.twitter.com/MnJWrow6Vv
— U.S. Pacific Command (@PacificCommand) June 10, 2016
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources conducts an aerial maritime inspection over Scarborough Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc on Thursday, according to a report of PTV.
PTV says BFAR is checking if the southeast portion of Bajo de Mansinloc remains free from illegal and hazardous floating barriers.
Earlier this week, the Philippine Coast removed the chains surrounding the entrance of Bajo de Masinloc installed by the China Coast Guard. — PTV
The National Security Council condemns the installation of the floating barriers of the China Coast Guard in Bajo de Masinloc, PTV reports on Monday.
“It ruled categorically that such action by the PRC violated the traditional fishing rights of our fishermen in the shoal who have been fishing there for centuries," NSC Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya says.
"Any State that prevents them from doing artisanal fishing there violates UNCLOS and international law, in general,” he adds.
PTV reports that BRP Antonio Luna of the Philippine Navy and HMCS Ottawa of the Royal Canadian Navy conducted a joint sail in the West Philippine Sea on Sept. 21.
“The joint sail is part of the Philippine Navy's regular engagements with its partners in the Philippines' maritime zones. Bravo Zulu to all the personnel of both ships and those who planned this activity," Ltc Enrico Gil Ileto, Public Affairs AFP chief says.
WATCH: BRP Antonio Luna of the Philippine Navy and HMCS Ottawa of the Royal Canadian Navy conducted a joint sail in the West Philippine Sea on Sept. 21. (????: AFP Wescom) | via Bea Bernardo (1/2) pic.twitter.com/DmJguzJSiF
— PTVph (@PTVph) September 22, 2023
Ahead of the second State of the Nation Address of President Ferdinand Marcis Jr, the descendants of the Bai sa Condor and Anta sa Tebouk, on behalf of the Iranun in the Philippines composed of 16 sultans, formally declares ownership of the Spratly Islands and the Scarborough Shoals as patrimony from their ancestors.
The declaration of ownership is led by Sultan Tomas Reyes Cabili, Jr. as part of the advocacy of the Tomas Ll. Cabili Foundation (TLC Foundation).
"TLC Foundation is doing this for our country’s sake as a whole on our claim for what is ours. Not just for our Muslim brothers and the Moro Origins of Mindanao (IRANUN), BUT for all the Filipinos - and the next generations to come. All the Philippines’ descendants of the Iranunis unfurling the historical dimension of the Spratlys and the ScarboroughShoals to strengthen the Philippines' claim on them and complement the theoretical frameworks already presented in the United Nations," Cabili says.
Raymond Powell, project lead at the Gordion Knot Center for National Security Innovation, tweets that China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels "maneuvered dangerously close" to two Philippine Coast Guard ships on a resupply mission at Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea last week.
In a tweet, Powell identifies the ships as BRP Malabrigo and BRP Malapascua. He says these were escorting a small-boat resupply mission to the Philippines' outpost aboard BRP Sierra Madre and were met by an armada of CCG and militia ships, as well as a possible navy vessel.
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