In a new development on ongoing maritime disputes, China Coast Guard’s (CCG) largest vessel, dubbed the “monster ship,” returned to the West Philippine Sea on Saturday, January 11.
The vessel with bow no. 5901 was first spotted 54 nautical miles away from Capones Island, Zambales earlier this month, prompting the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to deploy BRP Cabra and two aircraft on January 4 to patrol Scarborough Shoal. On Wednesday, January 8, the “monster ship” left, replaced by a smaller vessel with bow no. 3304, while BRP Teresa Magbanua took over patrolling the area.
But over the weekend, the “monster ship” returned. By Sunday, January 12, the ship was 95 nautical miles off the coast of Zambales.
In a press conference on Tuesday, January 14, PCG spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela said that the CCG aimed to “normalize such deployments,” adding, “If these actions go unnoticed and unchallenged, it will enable them to alter the existing status quo.”
National Security Council Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya called the vessel’s presence in the West Philippine Sea “illegal” and “a clear attempt to intimidate our fishermen and deprive them of their legitimate livelihood.”
The alleged “intimidation” by the CCG is not the first of its kind as China continues to stake its claim over disputed waters. Last year, disputes escalated when the CCG fired water cannons at PCG and Filipino civilian vessels on several occasions.
Long-running Maritime Disputes
China’s official map includes a nine-dash line that outlines nearly the entire West Philippine Sea — or what it calls the South China Sea. The line overlaps with the exclusive economic zones (EEZ) of neighboring countries like Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan, and the Philippines.
In 2012, the Philippine Navy attempted to apprehend eight Chinese fishing vessels near Scarborough Shoal, leading to a standoff with the CCG and prompting the Philippines to initiate an arbitration against China on the West Philippine Sea in 2013.
In 2016, the Hague, through the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, ruled the nine-dash line invalid and affirmed the Philippines’ control over resources within its 200-nautical-mile EEZ. Beijing, however, rejected the ruling.
