President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr speaks following an address to the Lowy Institute at the State Library of Victoria, in Melbourne, Australia, March 5, 2024. Joel Carrett, EPA-EFE   

MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday said that the loitering of two Chinese vessels in the Benham Rise was a “great concern” as it is “a clear intrusion” into the Philippines’ maritime territory.

Last week, two Chinese research vessels were spotted cruising across the Philippine Rise, an area in the eastern part of Luzon that is exclusive to the Philippines.

“I see this as absolutely unnecessary because if it is truly a research vessel then we could have come to a very simple agreement that the research vessel will ply the waters and do the research that they need to do,” he said.

“However, there is a suspicion that they are not only research vessels so, again, this is a bit of an escalation of the tension that is present in the West Philippines Sea,” he said.

The Philippines has deployed its navy and coast guard assets to patrol the area, an official from the National Security Council earlier said.

PH sends Coast Guard ship to Benham Rise

China claims almost the entirety of the South China Sea as its own, ignoring legal precedents and competing claims from a host of Southeast Asian nations.

Chinese coast guard boats this week were accused of harassing a flotilla of Philippine ships sailing a resupply mission.

The Chinese vessels were involved in two separate collisions, the Philippines coast guard said, and blasted one of the resupply boats with a water cannon.

Images taken in the aftermath showed the water cannon had shattered windows on the control bridge of one of the Philippine vessels.

Marcos Jr. has repeatedly urged the international community to protect the freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea, where 60 percent of global trade goes through annually.