MANILA – The Philippine Navy (PN) confirmed Thursday that it has monitored two Chinese warships near Bajo de Masinloc in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, PN spokesperson for the WPS, said the vessels—belonging to China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)—were sighted around 40 nautical miles southeast of the shoal while the Philippines was holding the 10th Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity (MMCA) with the United States, Australia, and Canada from September 2 to 3 off Zambales.

“These ships were monitored during the conduct of the 10th MMCA… They were observed following the international task group and were not conducting any surface serials or synchronized movement that would generally indicate a joint patrol, contrary to publications by the Southern Theater Command,” Trinidad said in a message to reporters.

He identified the Chinese warships as a Luyang-class guided-missile destroyer and a Jiangkai-class frigate but withheld other operational details for security reasons.

In a report by China’s Global Times, PLAN Southern Theater Command spokesperson Senior Colonel Tian Junli claimed that Chinese naval forces were merely conducting a routine patrol in response to the joint patrol by the Philippines, Australia, and Canada.

Trinidad dismissed the statement, branding it part of Beijing’s “malign influence operations” to justify the illegal presence of its warships inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Bajo de Masinloc, also known as Scarborough Shoal, lies 124 nautical miles off Masinloc, Zambales, well within the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile EEZ. (PNA)