A senior navy officer of the Philippine Navy confirmed that two Chinese fishing vessels were sighted off the east coast of the Philippines on Tuesday.
Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea (WPS), Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, told the media in a briefing that the Chinese fishing vessels were monitored within the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). But he did not provide additional details on the vessels’ exact location.
“I have to get the exact latitude and longitude, but from the report we received last night, we have monitored them on the east coast of the country,” Trinidad said.
The presence of the Chinese fishing vessels was posted earlier today by Sealight director Ray Powell on his X account.
“At least two Chinese fishing boats—the Lu Rong Yu 51794 & Lu Yan Yuan Yu 017–are currently operating off the east coast of the Philippines, less than 20nm (nautical miles) from the San Ildefonso Peninsula (in Casiguran, Aurora),” Powell said in his post.
Trinidad, however, stated that aside from the Chinese vessels, fishing boats from other countries were also monitored in the area, noting that such sightings are “not alarming.”
“This is not alarming; it is not only the Chinese fishing boats that we monitored; there are also other fishing boats from other countries all over our EEZ, including ASEAN countries and Pacific Island States,” he said, adding that they are already coordinating with the appropriate government agencies on how to address it.
He also noted that they are taking into consideration factors such as weather when assessing the presence of foreign vessels in the area, stating that “after the typhoon (Kristine) passed, we noted an increase in the presence of maritime traffic; generally, during a typhoon, the number of traffic decreases.”
