DND: Photos of Chinese ships at Scarborough

The Department of National Defense (DND) has released photos of the Chinese ships

seen at the Scarborough Shoal over the weekend.

The DND said the photos were taken by a Philippine Air Force (PAF) plane which conducted an overnight flight over the area last Saturday.

The DND said that based on what they saw on the photos, there were four coast guard ships, one of which appeared standing guard the entrance of the shoal, and six other ships, colored blue, in varying configurations.

"Four of the ships look like barges and two look like troop ships," Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, said.

Lorenzana had earlier expressed concern over the presence of the Chinese ships in the area.

"No dredging work has been seen (to reclaim the area). However, the presence of so many ships, other than the coast guard in the area, is cause for grave concern," the DND chief stressed.

Lorenzana said the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has already called the attention of the Chinese ambassador to the Philippines for an explanation.

Lorenzana said they are still not sure if the presence of barges is an indication that China is out to conduct reclamation in the area.

"We don't know yet if those barges are precursors of future dredging operations but let us not forget that early this year, they actually tried to bring dredging barges but were dissuaded by the United States," Lorenzana said.

"If they try to construct anything in Scarborough, it will have far reaching adverse effect on the security situation in the West Philippine Sea," he added.