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More PH patrols as Chinese ships spotted in West Philippine Sea areas

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ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA <strong>(UPDATED) </strong>— The Philippines is conducting more maritime patrols and freedom of navigation missions in the West Philippine Sea &quot;on a limited capacity&quot; after aggressive Chinese maneuvers against a resupply mission on Sunday, an official said Tuesday.</p><p>Chinese ships tried to block Philippine resupply vessels on their way to Ayungin Shoal, leading to collisions that damaged BRP Cabra and civilian ship Unaizah May 2.</p><p>Jonathan Malaya, assistant director general of the National Security Council, said the country’s increased patrols came as it again monitored &quot;a large number of Chinese maritime militia vessels&quot; not only near Ayungin but also in Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal) and Sabina (Escoda) Shoal.</p><p>&quot;We are alarmed by the environmental degradation our Coast Guard ships were able to monitor in these areas,&quot; he told ANC.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/23/23/joint-west-philippine-sea-patrols-urged-after-chinas-coercive-actions">Joint West Philippine Sea patrols urged after China&#x27;s &#x27;coercive&#x27; actions</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/24/23/coast-guard-wps-coral-damage-not-drama-a-serious-crime">Coast Guard: West Philippine Sea coral damage not drama, a serious crime</a></li></ul><div><strong>China told to &#x27;act responsibly&#x27;</strong></div><p>The security official also appealed to China to &quot;act responsibly&quot; and respect and adhere to international law, noting that Beijing is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea or UNCLOS.</p><p>China claims a vast part of the South China Sea, including the part that is within the Philippines&#x27; exclusive economic zone.</p><p>It was invalidated by an international court in The Hague in 2016 after the Philippines won its case against China, although the latter continues to ignore that ruling. </p><p>Malaya also accused China of conducting what he called a &quot;malign information operation&quot; where &quot;false narratives&quot; are shared with the public. </p><p>&quot;Some critics are saying this is just posturing on the part of the Philippines… This is a battle for the resources of our country particularly those for our fishermen,&quot; he said.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2853207" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div><div><strong>CODE OF CONDUCT</strong></div><p>Maritime security expert Ray Powell meanwhile said he sees maritime encounters between the Philippines and China will continue.</p><p>&quot;A sort of transparency unfortunately will probably not result in China abruptly changing course,&quot; he told ANC in a separate interview. </p><p>&quot;Although you&#x27;ve seen modifications to their behavior, for example now they bring their own cameras and they tell their own story.&quot;</p><p>Powell also said that he does &quot;not look forward to a real code of conduct&quot; in the South China Sea. Beijing is currently hosting talks for the pact, according to officials.</p><p>&quot;That comes down to the fact that the interests of the other maritime states and China are just too far apart,&quot; said Powell.</p><p>&quot;Ultimately China wants to use the code of conduct to reinforce its claim and of course, the other maritime countries want to avoid that. And so this is a dance that’s going to continue to go on in perpetuity.&quot;</p>

'We are alarmed by the environmental degradation our Coast Guard ships were able to monitor,' National Security Council exec Jonathan Malaya said.