Manila, Feb. 4 -- The Philippine Coast Guard's (PCG) BRP Cabra has shadowed two China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels to challenge their presence inside the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) until they returned to China.

In a statement on Tuesday, PCG Spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea (WPS) Commodore Jay Tarriela said BRP Cabra issued radio challenges highlighting the absence of legal authority of CCG vessels 3301 and 3104 to patrol Philippine waters during their incursion on Monday.

Both CCG vessels have since returned to China.

"According to Dark Vessel Detection data, as of 7 a.m. today (Feb. 4), the CCG vessels were tracked at 61 nautical miles and 81 nautical miles from Guangdong Province, China, respectively," Tarriela sa...