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China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels claimed innocent passage when they were spotted at the Basilan Strait on Thursday and this was established by the Philippine Navy, a military spokesperson said.

In a radio interview, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson Col. Francel Padilla said these were a training vessel and an amphibious landing dock ship were shadowed and challenged when they were monitored off the waters in Zamboanga Peninsula.

Padilla explained that the Philippine Navy was able to establish the innocent passage of the two China PLAN vessels in the area which is declared as an international sea lane.

"Basilan Strait is recognized as an international sea lane and it allows innocent passage of vessels from various vessels, that is their reply to the challenge which we established," she said.

"The location is really open water and allows for innocent passage. We haven't seen any violation as of this time," she added

"When we checked the category of these warships based on our standard operating procedure (SOP), the AFP dispatched BRP Domingo Deluana. Our vessel shadowed and monitored the PLA navy vessels and escorted these vessels, they issued standard challenges," she said.

"One of the ships responding to our challenge, the BN-83 Qi Jiguang responded that it was conducting (innocent passage) from its last port of call from Dili in Timor Leste going to Dalian in China," she said. Robina Asido/DMS