Following the devastation caused by Severe Tropical Storm “Enteng”, seven Chinese vessels which earlier fled to avoid the impact of the typhoon have returned to Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough or Panatag Shoal) in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
International maritime observer Ray Powell said on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday, Sept. 8, that six Qiong Sansha Yu maritime militia and one China Coast Guard ship were monitored to be sailing back to Bajo de Masinloc “to replace the ships that left in advance of Tropical Storm Yagi (Enteng) last week.”
The Chinese vessels came from the Panganiban (Mischief) Reef, a Chinese-occupied reef located at 130 nautical miles (250 kilometers) from Palawan but has since been militarized by China.
Powell, a retired United States Air Force colonel and now director of SeaLight, a maritime transparency project at Stanford University, revealed last Sept. 3 that six Qiong Sansha Yu maritime militia ships left Bajo de Masinloc ahead of Enteng’s impact to the Philippines.
“At least one large China Coast Guard ship (the 111-meter CCG 3305) remains on station at Scarborough, perhaps intending to ride out the storm there,” he said.
Enteng left the Philippine Area of Responsibility last Sept. 4 with 20 people dead and 26 others missing, and 2.7 million individuals affected in 10 regions.