Chinese vessels 82 in West Philippine Sea

The Armed Forces of the Philippines said on June 2 that it monitored 82 Chinese navy and coast guard vessels in parts of the West Philippine Sea in May, up from 62 in April. The increase came as Philippine officials were also verifying reports of a possible new object or structure at Bajo de Masinloc, also known as Scarborough Shoal. GMA News, citing AFP spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, said the May count covered Chinese ships seen from May 1 to May 31 in several disputed features. Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said days earlier that the government was checking “raw information” on possible new structures at the shoal. ### Where did the 82-vessel figure come from? Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said the 82 vessels were monitored in Philippine-claimed features in the West Philippine Sea during May, according to GMA News and other Philippine outlets. The tally referred to People’s Liberation Army Navy and China Coast Guard ships, not all traffic in the area. (gmanetwork.com) The month-on-month rise was 20 vessels from April’s 62, based on the Philippine military’s running count. Manila Standard, also citing the AFP, reported the same increase and said the ships were tracked in key West Philippine Sea areas. ### Why is Bajo de Masinloc part of the same story? Bajo de Masinloc featured in the Philippine briefings because Trinidad also reported a heavier Chinese presence there from May 26 to June 1. (gmanetwork.com) GMA News said Philippine monitors counted 20 China Coast Guard vessels and seven People’s Liberation Army Navy vessels around the shoal during that period. Trinidad said the increase was probably a response to joint Philippine sails with partner countries. (manilastandard.net) The U.S. 7th Fleet said Philippine forces and the U.S. Coast Guard conducted a Maritime Cooperative Activity inside the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone from May 26 to May 30. The U.S. statement said it was the sixth such activity of 2026 and the first this year to include the U.S. Coast Guard. ### What exactly was seen at Scarborough Shoal? (gmanetwork.com) SeaLight, a maritime monitoring group, said commercial satellite imagery captured on May 28 showed a small reflective object near the southern entrance to Scarborough Shoal’s lagoon. GMA News reported the object was around 10 meters in diameter, while Newsweek, citing SeaLight’s assessment, said it appeared to be less than 10 meters across. (cpf.navy.mil) Ray Powell, SeaLight’s director, said it was not yet possible to determine conclusively whether the object was a fixed structure, a reef-mounted marker, a buoy-type device, a monitoring instrument or something else. Powell said that if it were confirmed as a fixed installation, it would raise questions about compliance with the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea. (gmanetwork.com) ### What have Philippine officials said so far? Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said on May 30 that the government was monitoring “raw information” about possible new structures at Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal. He said the area was “dynamic” and that even small developments were already under watch. Trinidad said on June 2 that the report remained under validation by different Philippine agencies. (gmanetwork.com) He said the National Task Force West Philippine Sea would issue the appropriate statement once the information was validated or debunked. ### Why is this shoal especially sensitive? Bajo de Masinloc lies 124 nautical miles west of mainland Zambales, within the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone, according to Teodoro’s remarks reported by ABS-CBN. (abs-cbn.com) The same report said the shoal is 472 nautical miles from Hainan, China’s nearest land mass. (gmanetwork.com) Newsweek reported that China has exercised de facto control over Scarborough Shoal since a 2012 standoff with the Philippines. Philippine officials are now expected to base their next public statement on the results of inter-agency verification of the May 28 imagery and related reports. (newsweek.com) (abs-cbn.com)