Silence not an option as China’s intrusion continued

China is aggressively insisting on the legality of its baseless 9 dash line, now become 10-dash line, which covers almost the entire South China Sea, one can only imagine what a swarm of vessels could do to advance its occupation. Not recognizing the UNCLOS ruling, have been the subject of discontentment to China’s action from other countries specially especially the USA favoring the Philippines.

Based on latest data from the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, China has kept a constant presence in the South China Sea in 2024, staying in other countries’ waters for 1,939 ship days.

AMTI data revealed that China’s presence on 2024 is longer than the previous record of 1,652 in 2023. China’s vessels had stayed the longest in Luconia Shoals for 359 days and Vanguard Bank for 354 days. They were seen, as well, in Scarborough Shoal for 313 days; Second Thomas Shoal for 263 days; Thitu Island for 241 days, and Sabina Shoal for 128 days.

As pointed out by the AMTI, the China Coast Guard (CCG) “is as active as ever in patrolling every corner of its vast claim in the South China Sea,” which has parts that fall within the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of the Philippines.

The Philippines has protested this, especially China’s aggression against Filipino vessels, which in some instances, has endangered men from both the Philippine Navy (PN) and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).