US think tank says it saw Chinese ships at PH reefs

From Malaya Business Insight (May 11): US think tank says it saw Chinese ships at PH reefs

FIFTEEN Chinese combat and law enforcement ships have been observed to be frequenting the three reefs that were subjected to land reclamation by China in the contested South China Sea or West Philippine Sea since January last year, a US-based think tank group said.

In its website, the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative said the presence of these ships is on top of an array of aircraft deployed by the Chinese at the Fiery Cross, Mischief and Subic Reefs.

Eight of the 15 Chinese ships are from the Navy, including two frigates, and a destroyer, while seven others are from its Coast Guard.

Alongside the ships are “an array of support ships, including tankers, tugboats, and replenishment vessels, as well as a Type 639 Oceanograpic surveillance ship have been seen,”  the AMTI said.

“The Big Three host both air and naval bases, and they can support an ever-growing People’s Liberation Army Navy, China Coast Guard, and fishing fleet presence across the southern portion of the South China Sea,” the AMTI said.

“Satellite images show that PLAN destroyers, frigates, and other combat ships and CCG patrol vessels regularly visit the artificial islands, along with many auxiliary and logistics vessels,” it added.

It said the ships monitored in these reefs are merely based on satellite imagery, which only captures ships that are in port and not those that are in patrol. Its satellite imagery provides “a limited picture of naval and coast guard deployments.

“But the ubiquity of PLAN and CCG ships in images of Fiery Cross, Mischief, and Subi Reefs since the start of 2017 suggests how robust the PLAN and CCG presence at the island bases has become,” the AMTI said.
http://www.malaya.com.ph/business-news/news/us-think-tank-says-it-saw-chinese-ships-ph-reefs