MANILA, Philippines – Isang Chinese research ship ang nakita malapit sa tubig ng Palawan at Northern Luzon.
Mula Setyembre 30 hanggang Oktubre 6, hindi bababa sa 190 Chinese vessels ang naobserbahan sa West Philippine Sea, na kinabibilangan ng 28 vessels mula sa China Coast Guard at People’s Liberation Army.
Sinabi ng Philippine Cost Guard na ipagpapatuloy nito ang pagsubaybay sa mga dayuhang barko, ngunit idinagdag na wala itong nakitang kakaibang paggalaw.
“Wala naman report sa atin that there is something that we need to really… immediately address in the area. Continuous po ‘yung monitoring natin dito,” ani AFP spokesperson Colonel Francel Margareth Padilla.
Samantala, sinabi ng security analyst na si Ray Powell na dapat ding maging maingat ang bansa sa mga research ship.
“There may be research value in what they’re doing. Maybe looking at the sea environment for submarine operations. There may also just be symbolic value, [such as] making a statement that this is what we’re going to do, and you can’t stop us,” ani Powell. RNT