On 28 November the Philippine Navy (PN) spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said that Subi Reef is now serving as anchoring hub of Chinese ships in the West Philippine Sea. He made this comment when asked about the continued presence of Chinese ships in the Ayungin Shoal, Escoda Shoal and Pagasa Island. Earlier reports had over 80 assorted Chinese ships spotted in Pagasa’s territorial sea.
“We saw that their Maritime Militia continue to gather near Pagasa through Subi Reef, and Mischief Reef which is near Ayungin as these features have enclosed havens, enclose marinas, which are considered safe harbours for them, so there is a lot of concentration of Maritime Militia ships along with the PLA Navy and CCG in these areas),” he added in a radio interview.
Rear Admiral Trinidad said there are some days when around “150 to 200” Chinese Maritime Militia (CMM) ships are known to concentrate there.” He attributes this to Chinese reclamation that resulted in the development of Subi Reef into a naval base in the past years and making it more capable of hosting CMMs, PLAN and CCG ships with its enclosed marine and close harbour.
Chinese occupation of Subi Reef started in 1988 while reclamation activities commenced in 2014. Subi Reef also has a runway, ports and harbours, storage facilities, communication equipment, radar domes and is considered a fully operational facility. With its transformation as a naval base, Subi Reef was placed “off limits” to the Philippines, he added.
Source: Philippines News Agency
