NewsHK
The Armed Forces of the Philippines reported that the number of Chinese military and coast guard vessels operating in disputed South China Sea areas nearly doubled in September compared to the previous month.
Manila's military tracked 101 different Chinese navy and coast guard ships around four contested zones during the month, a sharp rise from 56 vessels in August and 48 in July.
This surge in maritime activity coincides with a series of increasingly tense encounters between Chinese and Philippine forces at sea and in the air.
The Philippine military identified Scarborough Shoal as the area with the highest concentration of Chinese activity, where 39 different coast guard and People's Liberation Army Navy ships were observed in September.
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