MANILA – The two Chinese research vessels recently spotted near the East Coast (formerly Philippine Rise) could have been evading storms and typhoons, a ranking naval official said Wednesday.
Philippine Navy (PN) spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, in a text message, said the vessels were spotted about “350 nm (nautical miles) south of the PH Rise and 120 nm east of Catanduanes as of yesterday afternoon.”
“I would say that they could probably be evading the typhoon, so the general direction would show that they are heading southward, southbound. So, umiiwas sila sa masamang panahon (they were avoiding the bad weather),” he told reporters.
Earlier reports said the ships entered the Philippine exclusive economic zone off the country’s eastern seaboard during the night of Nov. 4.
Trinidad said there is nothing to be alarmed about regarding the incident, as it is similar to the sighting of two fishing boats near the country’s east coast in Aurora province after a typhoon last week.
He said the vessels came from mainland China.
“We have a track of those ships. But again, if you analyze the weather in the region, it would show that these ships were most likely evading the weather disturbance,” he said. (PNA)
