Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 23) — A Washington-based think tank said the presence of Chinese vessels at the Julian Felipe Reef did not just start in recent months but has been ongoing since February last year.
“Chinese boats did not just start gathering there over the last few months. Satellite imagery from Planet Labs shows that significant numbers of vessels have been at Whitsun since at least February 2020—a fact earlier reported by Radio Free Asia,” Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative said in a report.
It noted that the number of boats just fluctuated for the past year and never entirely disappeared. Moreover, they were also observed to bounce between the reef and other parts of the Union Banks, it added.
AMTI said it cannot conclude how many boats are present due to limited visibility, but majority of those they recognized are Chinese fishing vessels 50 meters or more in length.
The think tank was also able to identify 14 ships based on photos and videos taken by Philippine patrols at Julian Felipe. Of these, five were discovered to be from the same operator of the Chinese boat that damaged the Filipino fishing boat Gem-Ver in 2019.
“A photo taken during the initial Philippine patrol on March 7 shows six Chinese vessels tied together at Whitsun Reef… By cross referencing this information with vessel profiles in the commercial AIS database Marine Traffic, AMTI can identify them as the Yuemaobinyu 42881, 42882, 42883, 42885, and 42886,” AMTI said.
“These names will sound familiar in the Philippines. In early 2019, the Yuemaobinyu 42212—so named because it operates from the same port as these five—rammed and sank the Philippine fishing vessel F/B Gem-Ver 1 at Reed Bank,” it added.
Earlier, AMTI discovered that Yuemaobinyu 42212 had a history of government contracts and suspicious AIS activity but could not conclude that it was part of the militia.
Last month, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea reported the presence of around 200 Chinese vessels at the reef. Also known as the Whitsun Reef, it is located close to Bataraza, Palawan, well within the Philippines’ 200-mile exclusive economic zone in the Kalayaan Island Group.
The government has already filed diplomatic protests against China and even summoned China’s envoy to settle the issue.
