Satellite images have revealed a "swarm" of nearly 100 Chinese vessels continuing to occupy waters near a Philippine-held island in the contested South China Sea.
Thitu Island, called Pag-Asa in the Philippines and Zhongye Island in China, is the second-largest naturally occurring feature in the Spratly Islands and the only one with a permanent civilian population. It and a number of other South China Sea features are at the center of territorial tensions between Beijing and the U.S. defense treaty ally.
Ray Powell, the director of Stanford University's Sealight program, shared satellite photos captured Tuesday by a European Space Agency satellite on X. The images show Chinese ships clustered close to Thitu.
"By far the largest PRC (People's Republic of China) vessel swarm I've ever seen off Thitu Island," Powell wrote. "Despite clouds, I count at least 73-75 ships sitting 2.5-5.5 nautical miles (2.9-6.3 miles) from the island—well within its 12 nm territorial sea."
Separate images Powell shared with Newsweek on Thursday revealed the ships remained in the area and in greater numbers.
Using MarineTraffic, which tracks ships via their Automatic Identification Systems, Powell counted 83 distinct vessels. He noted, however, that additional ships may be operating in the area with their transponders switched off, a tactic often employed by China's coast guard and maritime militia.
The Chinese embassy in the Philippines didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the situation.
Newsweek reached out to the Chinese foreign ministry and Philippine armed forces with written requests for comment.
China's so-called maritime militia is officially described by Beijing as a group of patriotic fishermen. However, many analysts consider it a third sea force used to assert the country's territorial claims in scenarios where using naval or coast guard vessels could escalate into armed conflict.
Flotillas numbering in the scores have previously occupied contested features within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone (EEZ) for extended periods, provoking diplomatic protests from Manila. Beijing has often claimed these vessels are sheltering from poor weather, though they have been involved in efforts to blockade Philippine-held features and disrupt government supply missions.
The territorial feud between China and the Philippines has grown increasingly tense. Over the past year, Chinese forces have escalated their aggressive tactics, including blocking maneuvers, ramming, water cannons, and on at least one occasion wielding melee weapons against Philippine personnel.
China claims sovereignty over more than 90 percent of the South China Sea, putting it at loggerheads with not only the Philippines, but Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and Taiwan. An international arbitral tribunal invalidated these sweeping claims in a 2016 ruling that China maintains is illegal.
Earlier this month, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed legislation clarifying the Southeast Asian nation's maritime claims. The move drew condemnation from Beijing, which two days later announced new territorial baselines around Scarborough Shoal—a feature within the Philippines' EEZ that China has controlled since a 2012 standoff.
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