By Priam Nepomuceno
MANILA – The Philippine Navy (PN) on Thursday said it has monitored two Chinese warships near Bajo de Masinloc in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
The two warships, which belong to China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), were spotted 40 nautical miles southeast of Bajo de Masinloc, PN spokesperson for the WPS Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said in a message to reporters.
“These ships were monitored during the conduct of the 10th MMCA (Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity) involving the US Navy, the Royal Canadian Navy, the Royal Australian Navy and the PN,” Trinidad said, referring to the naval exercises conducted on Sept. 2 to 3 off Zambales.
“They were observed following the international task group and were not conducting any surface serials or synchronized movement that would generally indicate a joint patrol contrary to publications by the Southern Theater Command,” Trinidad added.
One of the Chinese warships was classified as a Luyang-class guided-missile destroyer and the other as a Jiangkai-class frigate,
No other details were provided for security reasons.
PLAN Southern Theater Command spokesperson Senior Colonel Tian Junli claimed, in a Global Times report, said their naval forces conducted routine patrol in the area in response to a joint patrol by the Philippines, Australia, and Canada.
Trinidad said such messages are part of China’s malign influence operations to justify their illegal presence in the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Bajo de Masinloc, also called Scarborough Shoal, is located 124 nautical miles off Masinloc, Zambales, and is considered within the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile EEZ. (PNA)
