queen9play Westmincom tracking movement of 3 Chinese vessels in PH waters

BG PHOTO: Western Mindanao Comman, AFP via their Facebook page

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Zamboanga del Sur – The Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) is tracking the movement of three Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy vessels monitored to have entered the Philippine waters on Sunday, February 2.

Major Orlando Ayllon, Westmincom information officer said the three PLA vessels that included one Renhai Class Cruiser Guided Missile, one Jiangkai Class Frigate II and one Type 903 Fuchi Class Replenishment Oiler were first monitored in the vicinity of West Philippine Sea (WPS) on Sunday, navigating through Mindoro Strait towards Sulu Sea.

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Lt. General Antonio Nafarette, Westmincom commander, assured the public that the Armed Forces of the Philippines would always be committed to secure the “sovereignty of the state and the integrity of the national territory.”

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According to Nafarette, it is expected that the three PLA vessels in Philippine waters will be transiting through the international passages within the maritime domain of the Westmincom – the Sibutu Passage and the Basilan Strait.

As archipelagic sea lanes of communications (ASLOCs), these passages allow the transit of vessels of other nation-states subject to their compliance with national and international laws and procedures governing transits and innocent passage, Nafarette said.

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He, however, noted that the three PLA Navy vessels transited without prior diplomatic coordination and maintained unusually slow speed (4-5 knots).

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“This is not consistent with the principles of innocent passage which requires continuous and expeditious passage and that the vessel should not linger in archipelagic waters longer than necessary,” he said.

In a statement on Tuesday, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)-listed company said it held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new facility in Quezon City last August 29.

Meanwhile, global stock markets diverged as traders assessed the outlook for interest rates in the United States and Europe and looked ahead to the release of fresh consumer inflation data on Wednesday.

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To ensure maritime security, the Westmincom has deployed two Philippine Air Force (PAF) aircraft – a  C-208 and one Nomad N22, to monitor the passage of vessels within the country’s territorial waters.

The Joint Task Force “Poseidon,” Westmincom’s lead maritime security arm, has also dispatched Philippine Navy vessels to “challenge and shadow” the PLA Navy vessels as they pass through Westmincom’s area of responsibility, according to Nafarette.

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The PLA Navy duly responded and invoked freedom of navigation and innocent passage.” 

The littoral radars of the Philippine Navy also continuously tracked the movement of the said vessels.

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The Navy’s BRP Jose Rizal first spotted the three Chinese vessels 57 nautical miles southeast of Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal while on a regular maritime and sovereignty patrol and issued consecutive radio challenges. “The presence of the PLA-N in the area reflects the People’s Republic of China’s complete disregard for international law and undermines the peace and stability in the region,” the Naval Forces Northern Luzon said in a separate statement. 

On June 6, last year, the Naval Forces Western Mindanao (Navforwem) intercepted three Chinese warships off Pilas Island and Santa Cruz Island and engaged the warships in a radio challenge.

Among the spotted ships was the Duludao-class dispatch ship “Dong-Jiao 93” of the Chinese Peoples’ Liberation Army Navy East Sea Fleet.

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It was escorted by a Type 071 amphibious transport ship “Jinggang Shan” with pennant number 999queen9play, and another similar one, according to Nafarette.  (with reports from Frances Mangosing / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

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