TWO more Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels were spotted on Monday tailing the Philippine, American and French warships taking part in the "multilateral maritime exercise" (MME) of this year's Balikatan drills.
Western Command spokesman Capt. Ariel Joseph Coloma, in a message to the Philippine News Agency, said the PLAN ships were detected some 4 to 5 nautical miles as the participants in the MME were sailing 33 nautical miles northwest of Quezon, Palawan.
The PLAN ships, with bow numbers 793 and 167, were reported at around 9 a.m., he added.
The Balikatan exercises started on April 25.
Participating ships in the MME include the Philippine Navy's offshore patrol vessel BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PS-16) and landing dock BRP Davao del Sur (LD-602), the US Navy's landing ship dock USS Harpers Ferry (LSD-49), and the French Navy's Floreal-class frigate FS Vendémiaire (FFH-734).
On Sunday, another PLAN ship with bow number 578 was detected, while another one with bow number 793 was spotted on Saturday.
Coloma earlier said they were not bothered by the presence of the Chinese ships.
"As long [as] we continue to monitor and report them, we are in control of the situation, and besides, tuloy-tuloy pa rin naman ang exercises (the exercises are ongoing)," he added.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said it has been monitoring the unauthorized presence of a Chinese-flagged research vessel, "Shen Kuo," in the vicinity of Viga, Catanduanes.
The vessel was first sighted on April 25, some 60.9 nautical miles east of Rapu-Rapu Island, Albay.
"It was observed that the vessel was lying to in the area and had no personnel on the main deck," AFP Public Affairs Office chief Col. Xerxes Trinidad said in a statement.
Several attempts to contact the vessel through regular radio channels were unsuccessful.
"The AFP remains vigilant, monitoring any unauthorized research vessel in our maritime domain. We have already tasked nearby vessels for enhanced surveillance and reporting," Trinidad said.
Trinidad said the AFP was coordinating with relevant agencies to address the unauthorized presence and investigate illegal activities within the country's exclusive economic zone.
Read The Rest at :
