Philippines coast guard chief says boosts South China Sea presence

6/2/2023 19:02

        The Philippine Coast Guard has stepped up its presence in the disputed South China Sea by deploying additional vessels and conducting more sorties and
        overflights to protect maritime territory and the country's fishermen, its chief said on Monday.
        
        Beijing's sweeping claims of sovereignty over the waterway have drawn repeated complaints from Manila, which has ramped up its rhetoric against reported Chinese construction activities and the "swarming" of Chinese vessels in the resource-rich waterway.
        
        "We're making sure that the presence of coast guard vessels is felt by the fishermen in the area," Admiral Artemio Abu, Commandant of the Philippines Coast Guard (PCG), said in an interview.