THE Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) sent three additional ships to the West Philippine Sea (WPS) to add to nine other local vessels in the area against 240 Chinese vessels that were sighted on known Philippine territory.

The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) reported the presence of the Chinese ships within the Kalayaan Island Group and within the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) based on data from the AFP Western Command and on the Philippine Air Force's patrols over the Julian Felipe Reef where the government task force first reported their presence, Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo, AFP spokesman, said on Wednesday.