By MARTIN A. SADONGDONG
Chinese vessels have been swarming the Julian Felipe Reef long before the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) had discovered the more than 200 fishing vessels allegedly manned by Chinese militias early this month.
Satellite images released by Simularity, a United States-based technology firm, Friday disclosed that the hundreds of Chinese fishing vessels have been going in and out of the Julia Felipe Reef as early as November last year.
The satellite images practically debunked the claim of the Chinese government that the presence of the Chinese vessels in the area is for the purpose of seeking refuge from bad weather conditions.
“(W)e document their presence back to November 2020. The number of moored ships dips briefly in early February (2021), but the number of ships arriving and departing is still substantial,” Simularity said in a statement.
A satellite image showed that from Dec. 13 to 14, 2020, Chinese fishing vessels were moored together near the reef, reaching a width of up to 200 meters. It means that at an average width of 10 meters per ship, there were a total of 20 ships at the time, Simularity said.
“In this configuration, fishing is impossible,” it said.
This was the same observation made by AFP chief Gen. Cirilito Sobejana who said that the “phalanx” formation by the Chinese vessels was more of a military tactic than a fishing strategy.
The National Task Force (NTF) for the West Philippine Sea, which first reported the presence of 220 Chinese vessels on the Julian Felipe Reef on March 7, raised suspicion that some of the vessels were manned by Chinese militia.
As to the real reason behind the formation of the Chinese vessels, Sobejana has yet to provide an answer.
