MANILA — A senior official of the Philippine Navy said the United States’ focus on the conflict in the Middle East is not connected to the slight rise in Chinese vessels being monitored in the West Philippine Sea.

Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, the Navy’s spokesperson for the WPS, said they have not found any direct correlation between the developments in the Middle East and the increase in Chinese ships in the area.

“Bagamat may increase hindi pa natin ito ma-correlate directly sa nangyari sa (although there is an increase, this is not correlated on what is happening right now in the) Middle East,” Trinidad said during an interview with DZBB.

Trinidad noted that 34 vessels from the People’s Liberation Army Navy and the China Coast Guard were monitored in the WPS last week, a slight rise from the previous counts of 21 and 18 ships.

“Last week ay na-report natin na (we reported) 34, the other week I think was 21, the other week was 18,” he said.

Despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, Trinidad said the Philippines continues to carry out bilateral activities with the United States.

He added that around 500 activities are expected under the Mutual Defense Board-Security Exchange Board.

“Kakagawa lang natin ng (We just concluded) MMCA (multilateral maritime cooperative activity) with the US and Australia in Subic, from SBMA (Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority) all the way up to Mavulis Island,” he added.