Chinese aircraft carrier spotted near PH —AFP

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Thursday confirmed the presence of Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong near the country.

“Yes we have monitored the vessels,” AFP public affairs office chief Colonel Xerxes Trindad told GMA News Online in a message when asked about a report on the Chinese warship’s presence near the Philippines.

In a statement, the Philippine Navy said  a Chinese electronic surveillance ship was also monitored off the northern coast of Luzon on Tuesday.

“At approximately 9:36 AM, the aircraft carrier Shandong (CV-17) was detected underway about 2.23 nautical miles southwest of Babuyan Island, well within the Philippines’ archipelagic waters,” it said.

“At around 11:47 AM, a Type 815A Chinese electronic surveillance ship (AGI-797) was also monitored underway approximately 33.11 nautical miles northwest of Dalupiri Island, or about 38.91 nautical miles northwest of Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte,” it added.

Philippine Navy spokesperson Captain John Percie Alcos said this is the first time that their assets have monitored the Chinese vessel in the area.

According to Alcos, the Philippine Navy challenged the presence of the Chinese warships.

“They're actually conducting normal naval operations en route to a specific destination that we still do not know. Their passage was expeditious,” Alcos said in an ambush interview.

The Chinese warship was seen as the Philippines, United States, and Japan are set to conduct joint sail on Thursday as part of the annual Balikatan military exercises between Manila and Washington.

“We expect a lot of vessels to transit that particular area, especially off the coast of the Babuyan Islands and Dalupiri Island because it's a recognized maritime corridor,” Alcos said.

“With the Balikatan exercises ongoing, we also expect several key players to be there also to monitor the exercise,” he added.

Tensions continue as Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual shipborne commerce, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei.

Parts of the South China Sea that fall within Philippine territory have been renamed by the government as West Philippine Sea to reinforce the country’s claim.

The West Philippine Sea refers to the maritime areas on the western side of the Philippine archipelago including Luzon Sea and the waters around, within and adjacent to the Kalayaan Island Group and Bajo de Masinloc.

In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines over China's claims in the South China Sea, saying that it had "no legal basis."

China has refused to recognize the decision.

On Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun called out the Philippine for its military drills with the US.

“The Philippines chose to conduct the large-scale military drills with this country outside the region and brought in strategic and tactical weapons to the detriment of regional strategic stability and regional economic prospects, which puts them on the opposite side of regional countries,” he said.

“China firmly opposes any country using the Taiwan question as an excuse to strengthen military deployment in the region, heighten tensions and confrontation, and disturb regional peace and stability,” he added.

The Chinese official also warned that “those who play with fire will perish by it.”

China has been conducting military drills around Taiwan. China insists that democratic Taipei was part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring the island under its control.

Beijing has boosted the deployment of fighter jets and naval vessels around Taiwan in recent years to push its claim of sovereignty, which Taipei rejects.

According to the Chinese military, the military drills were aimed at sending a "stern warning and forceful deterrence" to alleged separatists in Taiwan.—AOL/RF, GMA Integrated News