MANILA – There is nothing new with China's move to deploy naval assets in response to any Philippine-led maritime cooperative activity (MCA) in the country's territorial waters, a ranking Philippine Navy (PN) official said.
"For every MCA that we conduct with our partners and allies, there is always the presence, the uninvited presence of the PLA (People's Liberation Army) Navy. Whether we do this with the US, with European powers, or with Japan," PN spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea (WPS) Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said in a press briefing late Tuesday when asked to comment on the presence of Chinese naval ships during the Philippines' second bilateral MCA with Japan over the weekend.
Trinidad said PLAN and China Coast Guard ships were detected in Philippine-held features in the WPS that include Bajo de Masinloc, Sabina Shoal, Pag-asa Island, and Ayungin Shoal.
"For every activity we conduct with our partners and allies, there has been a response, a reaction by the PLAN in order to justify their presence, their continued illegal presence in our maritime zones after any MMCA (multilateral maritime cooperative activity) that we do," Trinidad stressed.
The second bilateral MCA between the Philippines and Japan was held specifically west of Zambales up to the west-northwest of Occidental Mindoro, within the country’s exclusive economic zone.
For this exercise, Trinidad said a Jiangkai-class frigate (also known as Type 054A frigate) was monitored approximately 18 nautical miles away from the participating Japanese warship, the guided missile destroyer JS Takanami (DDG-110).
"Another one was monitored 30 nautical miles further away. The following day, there were two warships and two CCG vessels in the vicinity of Bajo de Masinloc," he added. (PNA)