{"id":1326,"date":"2024-11-29T19:02:24","date_gmt":"2024-11-29T19:02:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/?p=1326"},"modified":"2024-11-29T19:02:24","modified_gmt":"2024-11-29T19:02:24","slug":"over-60-chinese-vessels-encircle-disputed-philippine-island-satellite-images-reveal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/?p=1326","title":{"rendered":"Over 60 Chinese Vessels Encircle Disputed Philippine Island, Satellite Images Reveal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over 60 Chinese Vessels Encircle Disputed Philippine Island, Satellite Images Reveal
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Satellite images have revealed about 60 Chinese vessels crowding near Thitu Island, a key territory controlled by the Philippines in the South China Sea.<\/p>\n

The photos taken by Maxar Technologies and reviewed by Reuters show some ships two nautical miles from the island.<\/p>\n

Thitu Island, locally called Pag-Asa, is the Philippines\u2019 most important outpost in the region, and it is used to monitor Chinese activities in these busy waters.<\/p>\n

The head of the Philippines\u2019 Western Command, Vice Admiral Alfonso Torres, tried to calm concerns, saying it\u2019s normal for Chinese maritime militia ships to gather in the area. \u201cIt\u2019s not a cause for concern,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Rear Admiral Roy Trinidad, a spokesperson for the Philippine Navy, describes the ships\u2019 presence as \u201cillegal\u201d but adds that there\u2019s no reason to panic.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have to react to everything they do. What matters is we stay firm in our position,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

These so-called fishing vessels, many registered in China, are believed to work closely with the Chinese coast guard and navy.<\/p>\n

However, China has never officially acknowledged the existence of a maritime militia, and its defense ministry has not commented on the recent buildup.<\/p>\n

Chinese and Philippine vessels have been involved in months of clashes, especially around Scarborough Shoal and Second Thomas Shoal. Thitu Island sits near Subi Reef, where China has built a naval base and runway.<\/p>\n

Security experts believe the gathering might be a move by China to test the Philippines\u2019 reaction, especially given the current political tension in Manila.<\/p>\n

Collin Koh, a security analyst based in Singapore, says that China could be trying to delay construction on Thitu Island. The Philippines is reportedly building an aircraft hangar there, which is expected to be finished soon. \u201cThis situation needs to be watched closely,\u201d Koh warned.<\/p>\n

Reference: Reuters<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Over 60 Chinese Vessels Encircle Disputed Philippine Island, Satellite Images Reveal Image Credits: Wikipedia Satellite images have revealed about 60 Chinese vessels crowding near Thitu Island, a key territory controlled by the Philippines in the South China Sea. The photos taken by Maxar Technologies and reviewed by Reuters show some ships two nautical miles from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194,196],"tags":[197],"class_list":["post-1326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-marine-insight","category-shipping-news","tag-marine-insight"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1326"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1326\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}