The chief of the Philippine military on Monday confirmed that there were still Chinese ships at Julian Felipe Reef near Palawan province, two weeks since more than 200 vessels were seen there by a Philippine Coast Guard team patrolling the West Philippine Sea. “The ships are still there. We are still counting them,” Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana told reporters on Monday. But the AFP’s Western Command (Wescom) still had to determine the numbers, on the heels of the reported presence of 220 Chinese ships in that coral area named by the Philippines after the composer of its national anthem.

Andrade, J. I., Santos, T., Yap, D., Salaverria, L. B. (2021, March 23). Chinese ships still at reef near Palawan-AFP chief. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A4.