MANILA, Philippines — The number of Chinese ships at Escoda (Sabina) Shoal has increased to a “record-high” 82, including 11 warships, 10 days after the BRP Teresa Magbanua left the area on Sept. 14, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said on Tuesday.

MANILA: The Philippines said on Wednesday (Sep 25) its fisheries bureau aircraft was shadowed and approached by a Chinese navy helicopter while on patrol near the disputed Scarborough Shoal

The number of Chinese vessels swarming various parts of the West Philippine Sea has now reached a new record high of 251, of which 153 are concentrated within the vicinity of Ayungin and Escoda Shoals.

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has deployed a coast guard ship and three warships to monitor the presence of a Chinese research vessel conducting a survey off Palawan, Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, said on Tuesday.

MANILA, Philippines — The biggest number of Chinese warships to date have been observed in Escoda (Sabina) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea, just over a week after the Philippine Coast Guard pulled out its vessel BRP Teresa Magbanua.

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Navy on Tuesday reported the largest ever presence of Chinese ships in the West Philippine Sea due to the surge of militia vessels around the grounded navy outpost BRP Sierra Madre.

The 11 reported sighting of People's Liberation Army navy ships near Sabina Shoal is twice more than the four that were spotted the previous week, based on Philippine Navy data. 

The number of Chinese ships swarming the West Philippine Sea has climbed to a record-high for the third time this year — a surge partly driven by the four-fold increase in the Chinese vessels near Ayungin Shoal.

A Chinese marine research vessel is doing survey work near the southern coast of Palawan, according to a defense and maritime security expert involved in tracking movements of ships in the South China Sea.