MANILA, Philippines — A total of 62 Chinese vessels were spotted in parts of the West Philippine Sea (WPS) in April, coinciding with military activities for this year’s Exercise Balikatan, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said on Wednesday. The following are the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy ships and Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessels in the following areas:
“These figures underscore the continued ICAD (illegal, coercive, aggressive, depressive) activities that undermine the rules-based international order and constitute a blatant attempt to erode the Philippines’ territorial integrity, sovereignty, and sovereign rights,” Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, AFP spokesman for the WPS, said in a statement.
Despite these actions, the Philippine Navy and the AFP remain steadfast in fulfilling their respective mandates to uphold maritime security, maintaining a sustained focus on operational readiness, enhanced maritime domain awareness, and strengthened inter-agency coordination in addressing developments in the WPS, Trinidad said.