THE Philippine Navy (PN) on Tuesday said the presence of Chinese ships remains "an existential threat" in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) after it reported the successful conduct of 54 patrol missions this month as part of efforts to assert Philippine sovereignty in the region.
"We have monitored them. We are tracking them. They are an existential threat," said Navy spokesman for the WPS, Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, referring to Chinese maritime militia, People's Liberation Army Navy and China Coast Guard ships.
