203 Chinese ships crowd West Philippine Sea in largest show of force this year

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Navy spotted 203 Chinese vessels near the country's nine occupied features in the West Philippine Sea last week — marking Beijing's largest naval presence in the contested waters since the start of the year. 

The number of Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea climbed by 24% in just two weeks, going from a tally of 163 vessels from August 20 to 26, to 203 from August 27 to September 2, based on the monitoring of the Philippine Navy.

China's increased naval presence, while "not normal," is still  "within the range of the capability they could project in the SCS (South China Sea)/WPS," Philippine Navy spokesman for the West Philippine Sea Rear Admiral Roy Vincent said on Tuesday, September 3. 

The surge in the number of Chinese ships meandering about in the tense waterways can be attributed to Beijing's renewed focus on Escoda (Sabina) Shoal in the last few weeks, Vincent said. 

Of the 203 Chinese ships, at least 71 were spotted within the waters of Sabina Shoal, according to the Philippine Navy. Over half or 53 of these are Chinese maritime militia vessels, while the rest are Coast Guard and army deployments. 

"Nevertheless, the increase in numbers will not justify their illegal presence, their coercive and aggressive actions and their deceptive narratives," Vincent said.

The Philippines last week condemned the Chinese Coast Guard's deliberate ramming of a Philippine Coast Guard vessel that has been stationed at Escoda Shoal since April amid reports of Chinese reclamation activities in the area.

The collision, which was captured on video, punctured a man-sized hole on the hull of BRP Teresa Magbanua. 

The incident is the latest in a series of similar maritime confrontations between the Philippines and China and at least the third that took place near or within the waters of Escoda Shoal, a feature 75 nautical miles from Palawan and well within the Philippines' 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone.

China insists that it was the Teresa Magbanua that rammed their Coast Guard vessel but also, through its foreign ministry spokesperson, defended its actions as "rights protection actions to safeguard China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests."

Liu Dejun, a spokesperson for China's Coast Guard, called on the Philippines to withdraw BRP Teresa Magbanua or bear the consequences.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said on Monday that the Philippines has directly reached out to China to "express its displeasure" over the incident.