AFP Says Chinese Warships Returned to West Philippine Sea in August After Brief Absence, 56 Vessels Tallied Across Four Features

The Armed Forces of the Philippines said on September 1, 2026 that its monthly monitoring tallied 56 Chinese vessels — 15 PLA-Navy warships and 41 China Coast Guard ships — across four West Philippine Sea features in August: 23 at Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal, 9 PLAN/14 CCG), 18 at Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal (1 PLAN/17 CCG), 9 at Escoda (Sabina) Shoal, and 6 at Pag-asa (Thitu) Island. The AFP said the presence of PLAN warships marked a rebound from the August 18-24 weekly window, when no Chinese navy ships were detected — a gap the military cautioned should not be read as a de-escalation, saying monthly figures give a more reliable picture of trends than short weekly snapshots. Separately, the Philippine Navy said it tracked 18,534 vessels transiting the country's exclusive economic zone in August, including roughly 16,000 foreign-flagged ships, of which more than 12,000 responded to radio challenges and just over 6,000 did not.