Satellite, radar and infrared images taken over a span of six months last year showed an alarming increase of fishing vessels – mostly Chinese – in the West Philippine Sea that not only have further degraded marine resources in the area but also increased risks of armed conflict in the disputed waters, a security expert has warned. Gregory Poling of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative in his article published in the AMTI website last Jan. 9 analyzed the results of the six-month collaboration between the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and Vulcan Inc.’s Skylight Maritime Initiative. The project involved tracking movements of fishing vessels through Automatic Identification System (AIS), Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) in the South China Sea.

Romero, P., & Lee-Brago, P. (2019, January 12). Satellite images confirm surge of China vessels in WPS. The Philippine Star, p. 3.