China ‘monster ship’ still in Zambales – PCG

By Raymond Carl Dela Cruz, Philippine News Agency

The PCG will continue its monitoring of the CCG vessel and safeguard the country’s maritime borders, Tarriela said. (File Photo: Philippine Coast Guard/Facebook)

MANILA – China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel 5901, dubbed as the “monster ship” for its size, has remained off the coast of Zambales province, according to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

In a post on X on Wednesday night, PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea (WPS) Commodore Jay Tarriela said BRP Gabriela has been monitoring the movements of the Chinese ship.

He said the CCG vessel’s movements have not been “continuous or expeditious,” showing that it is not in the area for “innocent passage.”

“In response, BRP Gabriela Silang has effectively maintained a protective position through skillful seamanship, successfully keeping the CCG at an average distance of 60-70 nautical miles from the Philippine coastline,” Tarriela said.

The CCG vessel, he said, has issued radio challenges to BRP Gabriela Silang for supposedly violating the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972 (COLREGs) in its attempts to remain in the area.

But Tarriela said the allegation “disregards the more critical issue of the CCG’s illegal presence within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).”

“The PCG’s close maneuvering against the CCG vessel is vital to prevent it from approaching forward the Zambales coast,” he added.

The PCG will continue its monitoring of the CCG vessel and safeguard the country’s maritime borders, Tarriela said.

“[We] will continue to monitor and address any threats to its maritime jurisdiction, sovereign rights, and sovereignty in the WPS,” he said.

On Monday, the National Maritime Council (NMC) opposed the continued illegal presence and activities of Chinese maritime and militia forces in the Philippines’ EEZ.

In the statement, the NMC said the repeated Chinese incursions are clear violations of Republic Act 12064 or the Philippine Maritime Zones Act and international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and the 2016 arbitral ruling that affirmed the Philippines’ sovereign rights in its maritime zones, especially in the West Philippine Sea.