Chinese warship, 2 other vessels spotted off Batanes during ‘Balikatan’

A China Coast Guard (L) vessel blocks BRP Melchora Aquino (R) during the Philippine coast guard’s mission to deliver provisions at Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea on November 10, 2023. FILE PHOTO/Agence France-Presse

LAOAG CITY, Philippines — A Chinese warship and two other vessels from Beijing were spotted off Batanes during the conduct of bilateral war games between Manila and Washington.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said that around 10:45 a.m. on May 1, the BRP Melchora Aquino spotted a People’s Liberation Army-Navy vessel of China and two other Chinese-flagged vessels in the vicinity of Itbayat, Batanes, where the Balikatan Exercise was being held.

“Our BRP Melchora Aquino (MRRV-9702) engaged in radio challenges with the two unidentified Chinese-flagged vessels and later saw them leaving the area. While the PLA Navy ship, which was positioned farther away than the two other Chinese ships, had also left the area,” PCG spokesperson Rear Admiral Armand Balilo said in a statement.

READ: Batanes as ‘Balikatan’ site: US Army execs arrive to build Warehouse