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Noting that their presence in the area is “very unusual,” an Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) official on Monday said the Chinese vessel first spotted off Catanduanes may be conducting a marine survey in the eastern section of the country.
Col. Xerxes Trinidad, AFP public affairs chief, said that as of 7:30 a.m., Chinese ship Shen Kuo was spotted 44.6 nautical miles northeast of Northern Samar’s Gamay town.
“We are seeing that the vessel is loitering,” Trinidad said in a chance interview in Camp Aguinaldo.
“There are possibilities of a survey because its movement is very unusual and the area is not considered an international highway for vessels,” he also noted.
Over the weekend, the AFP reported that the vessel was spotted off Viga town in Catanduanes on Saturday.
A security expert also raised another possibility, saying that the ship’s presence there may either be a diversionary tactic in view of the ongoing war games between Manila and Washington.
