Nineteen Chinese warships, including frigates and destroyers, were detected in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) throughout November, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) confirmed on Tuesday, Dec. 2.

Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, AFP spokesperson for the WPS, said the ships were monitored near the Kalayaan Island Group and Bajo de Masinloc, where Beijing’s military activity persists within Manila's maritime waters.

The sightings formed part of the 14,972 vessels tracked nationwide during the month, including 12,450 foreign vessels and 2,522 domestic vessels.

The November count of Chinese military vessels was slightly lower than October where 21 Chinese warships were detected. Trinidad attributed the slight decrease to the recent weather disturbances faced by the country, which forced the foreign vessels to seek shelter.

While the AFP records the presence of PLA-N warships, Trinidad said the military has stopped publicly reporting data on the number of Chinese maritime militia vessels in the Philippine waters because of the difficulty in tracking their movements, which often include time spent inside PLA-Navy bases.

The AFP, he said, is working with the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to synchronize data on the monitoring of China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels.

Of the nearly 15,000 vessels observed nationwide, 13,190 responded to AFP radio challenges while 1,781 did not.

Vessel traffic remained highest in the northern maritime zone with 6,898 recorded movements, followed by the south with 5,120; the west with 2,259; and the east with 695.

Despite the continued presence of Chinese warships in the WPS, Trinidad said the AFP has not recorded any act that could be seen as hostile.

“There has been no report of any fire control system activated against our ships,” he said. “Their presence is there. They’re silent, we monitor them and we challenge them.”