MANILA, Philippines — Forty one Chinese ships have been spotted in parts of the West Philippine Sea (WPS) in the first week of 2026, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said on Tuesday.
In data provided by the AFP, the ships were seen in:
Bajo de Masinloc - Two People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, Three Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) and three Chinese Maritime Militia (CMM) vessels; Ayungin Shoal - six CCGs and eight CMMs; Escoda Shoal - Three PLA Navy ships, six CCGs and eight CMMs; Pagasa Island - Four CCGs and two CMMsRear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, AFP spokesman for the WPS, said they looked at the trends on a monthly basis and not weekly, hence, the more accurate assessment of the increase could be determined at the end of the month.
The latest comparative monthly assessment they have was for November and December, which clearly showed an increase in number.
“If you look at the comparative data that we have, there’s been an increase in the PLA Navy and the Chinese Coast Guard presence all over the West Philippine Sea and their actions had been more aggressive,” Trinidad said in a press briefing.
Trinidad added that the Chinese ships were even getting closer to participating in joint naval drills between the Philippines and other like-minded nations.
“From merely being distant from the participants of MMCAs (Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity), they are now an active enabler,” Trinidad said.
“So we foresee that for 2026, this would likely be the trend, increased presence of the PLA Navy, CCG and CMM,” Trinidad said.
Not alarming, still within the number
This number however is still not a cause for alarm, Trinidad said, as no coercive and aggressive actions have been reported yet, not even any harassment of Filipino fisherfolks.
“If you compare this with the previous data, this is still quite within the numbers we are monitoring. They are not yet threatening,” Trinidad said.
