Chinese Coast Guard, Navy keep 'swarming' tactics in disputed sea

CHINESE vessels lingered near contested areas in the South China Sea last month, in line with China’s “swarming” and “gray-zone” strategies amid heightened regional tensions, the Philippine military said on Tuesday.

- By Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio Reporter

China sent the biggest number of ships to Scarborough Shoal in May — 15 coast guard vessels and 11 navy ships, military spokeswoman Colonel Francel Margareth Padilla-Taborlupa told a news briefing.

“As part of continued maritime surveillance, Chinese government-affiliated vessels remained persistently present in key areas in the West Philippine Sea,” she said, referring to areas of the South China Sea within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (ecozone).

“Chinese vessels were sighted intermittently throughout various features of the Kalayaan Island Group (Spratly Islands) and other Philippine maritime zones, consistent with patterns of maritime swarming and gray-zone activity,” she added.