MANILA, Philippines—The COVID-19 pandemic did not stop or slow China’s deployment of coast guard ships “around symbolically important features” in the West Philippine Sea, including those lying inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) like Panatag (Scarborough) and Ayungin (Second Thomas) shoals.
An analysis of data from automatic identification systems (AIS), which track vessel position at sea, gathered by the website MarineTraffic showed that China was apparently intending to make its presence felt in these reefs, according to Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) of the US think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies.
From Dec. 1, 2019 to Nov. …
Keep on reading: Chinese patrols in PH waters getting brazen despite pandemic, says US think tank