Philippine Navy monitors 19 Chinese warships on West Philippine Sea

by: Josh

Published: January 28, 2026 | 12:00 P.M.

The Philippine Navy reported on Tuesday that it monitored a total of 19 warships from China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) in the West Philippine Sea throughout November.

According to Philippine Navy Spokesperson Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, the Chinese warships were observed in different maritime zones within the country's waters. 

"These monitoring efforts reflect the Navy's continuous maritime domain awareness, presence operations, and commitment to safeguarding territory, sovereignty, and sovereign rights," he added.

Based on Trinidad, the Philippine Navy monitored 14,972 vessels across the entire archipelago last November. Of the total number of ships, 12,450 were foreign vessels, and 2,522  were domestic.

Meanwhile, 13,190 vessels responded to radio challenges while 1,781 others did not, Trinidad said.