Chinese warship “shadowed” the Navy’s newly acquired corvette BRP Conrado Yap when it sailed from Korea to the Philippines, Navy chief Vice Admiral Robert Empedrad said on Wednesday.

Empedrad said at a news conference that “When we sailed our new ship from Korea back to the Philippines, shinadow tayo ng Chinese frigates,”.

He added t that, “We passed between Taiwan and Mainland China, we could not usually pass those strait, but because of the typhoon, dumaan kami doon,”.

“‘Yun na nga ‘yung sinasabi natin. Na pwede namang magcoordinate eh. So noong dumaan nga ang barko namin, we probably informed them that we are passing through,” Empedrad said.

“So dumaan kami doon, shinadow kami ng warship ng I think frigate and then Coast Guard of Taiwan,” he added.

Empedrad said there was nothing wrong when the Chinese frigates and the Taiwanese Coast Guard shadowed the BRP Conrado Yap.

“Wala namang provocative or hostile act on their ships because they know that our passage is innocent passage so tuloy-tuloy, maganda, naguusap pa nga sila eh,” Empedrad said.

“‘Yung frigate ng China, sinamahan tayo from Taiwan, from Taiwan straits until makarating tayo sa territorial waters natin somewhere sa western side of Ilocos,” he added.

A former Pohang-class corvette is now known as The BRP Conrado Yap is now at Manila South Harbor since last August 18.

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