Wescom: Chinese ships stay put in Ayungin

From the Manila Standard Today (Jul 12): Wescom: Chinese ships stay put in Ayungin

Lt. Gen. Rustico Guerrero, commander of the Western Command that covers the West Philippine Sea, on Thursday confirmed the presence of Chinese ships and fishing boats in Ayungin Reef, a maritime area which is part of the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) town off Palawan.
But he said that based on their monitoring, the number of Chinese vessels vary every day.

“Pabago-bago. Minsa isa, minsan tatlo, minsan dalawa. It’s very dynamic,” Guerrero said.

(The number of ships change from time to time. Sometimes there are three ships, sometimes two. It’s very dynamic).

Aside from Ayungin Reef, Chinese fishermen, escorted by Chinese Maritime vessels, have also continued their acitivities at Bajo de Masinloc (Panatag Shoal) in Zambales,  which is located 184 nautical miles,  or within the country’s 200-nautical mile, exclusive economic zone.

Earlier, highly-placed military sources said a Chinese Navy ship with bow No. 83 remained in the area.

Owners of fishing boats and fishermen near the reef also disputed a newspaper story that cited sources claiming that Ayungin had been cleared of Chinese ships.

Guerrero said Marine troops stationed in Ayungin continue their monitoring activity on the movements of the Chinese Navy and fishing boats in the area.

“As far as the Wescom is concerned we are continuously monitoring our good friends in that area with what is available with my command and we provide the reports to the national leadership for their appreciation. Rest assured that we will not leave Ayungin,” he said.

He said that the crew of the Chinese ships had remained in their boats and had not shown any threatening action against the Marine troops in Ayungin.

“They (Chinese) are not taking over, they are just monitoring. Actually, at the same time they are coming (near) our detachment. So we are protecting our respective outposts…There is no overt action from both sides. We will maintain our detachment in that area,” Guerrero said.

“We’re doing our best to protect our territory. Our outpost is properly manned and we are continuously monitoring the activities of other nations in that area. There is no [disruption] of our resupply activities,” he added.

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2013/07/12/wescom-chinese-ships-stay-put-in-ayungin/