Manila: A maritime expert believes that Chinese maritime militia vessels posing as fishing boats are edging closer to Palawan as part of a ploy to restrict access by Filipinos to key areas in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

Jay Batongbacal, a maritime law professor at the University of the Philippines, on Wednesday told Philippine Daily Inquirer/Asia News Network the Chinese maritime militia anchored at Iroquois Reef and Sabina Shoal could quickly interdict Philippine ships sailing out to fish, resupplying Filipino military outposts or exploring for oil and gas off Palawan.

“These vessels are therefore part of Chinese activities to eventually cut the Philippines off from the West Philippine Sea,” he said in a Facebook post on Wednesday in reaction to the Inquirer’s report on the “swarming presence” of Chinese militia vessels at Iroquois and Sabina.

The reef and the shoal are located within the country’s 370-kilometre exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

It is located much closer to Palawan than Julian Felipe (Whitsun) Reef.