MANILA — Residents of Pag-asa Island in the Kalayaan Group have gotten used to the presence of Chinese vessels in the area, as several ships linger from time to time, the Philippine Coast Guard said on Tuesday.

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"I think they got used to that kind of feeling na mayroong Chinese maritima mIlitia vessels na umiikot sa isla ng Pag-asa," said Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG's spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea.

"This is not something new. Sa mga nakaraang panahon alam na natin na ilang beses na rin ito iniikutan ng Chinese vessels — whether Chinese Coast Guard or Chinese militia," he added during a televised briefing.

Tarriela's statement came after a report from the PCG this weekend showed that at least 40 Chinese vessels were staying near Pag-asa Island (Thitu Island).

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These vessels were estimated at a distance of 4.5 to 8 nautical miles from the island, based on the report.

The official said they continue to challenge the Chinese ships' presence there but this has been ignored. This is "inconsistent" with the right of innocent passage, he said.

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"Ang sinasabi [ng PCG], ang 12 nautical miles ng Pag-asa island ay territorial sea ng Pilipinas at tayo ay may sovereignty dito," he said.

"Hindi nila ginagalang ang ating territorial integrity sa karagatang ito."

Pag-asa Island, located some 285 miles west of mainland Palawan, is home to Philippine troops and civilians who are constituents of Kalayaan, a municipality created in 1978. China calls it Zhongye Dao.

Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam also have overlapping claims in the maritime area.

Some 400 civilians are living in the island, some 70 of whom are children, Tarriela said.

China's historical claims over almost the entire South China Sea, within which is the West Philippine Sea, had been invalidated by an arbitration court in 2016. But it disregards the ruling and continues to be the most aggressive among the claimants.

It has protested visits of ranking Philippine officials to Pag-asa Island in the past, and has repeatedly committed incursions in Philippine waters.

— With a report from Agence France-Presse