FILE PHOTO: The BRP Sierra Madre, a Navy warship that now serves as military outpost, keeps watch over Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas), located within the country’s exclusive economic zone. Nearby are Chinese coast guard and militia vessels in this shot taken on February 21, 2023, during an aerial surveillance by the Philippine Coast Guard. Philippine Daily Inquirer/Niño Jesus Orbeta
MANILA, Philippines — China’s ‘monster ship’ was spotted near the Ayungin Shoal by the West Philippine Sea monitor on Monday, June 24.
As of 9:00 a.m., the 12,000-ton CCG vessel “passed close” to the Philippines’ naval station near the BRP Sierra Madre, a naval outpost grounded in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal.
The direction of the China ‘monster ship was north, according to Sea Light director Ray Powell.
Powell, however, told INQUIRER.net that the CCG ship, which also entered the West Philippine Sea last month, did not intend to stay within the vicinity of the shoal that is located only about 194 kilometers (105 nautical miles) off Palawan province, or well within the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
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He nevertheless noted that the CCG’s biggest vessel “has been on a tour of South China Sea hotspots,” including the waters off Philippines’ Pag-asa Island and Malaysia’s Luconia Shoal which are part of the disputed Spratly Islands.
Maritime features in Spratlys occupied by Manila are locally known as the Kalayaan Island Group, with its capital being Pag-asa Island which hosts Filipino civilians and military personnel.
“I would classify this as an intrusive patrol, intended to send a message of China’s jurisdiction over these areas and its maritime dominance,” Powell, program head of Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, also said of CCG ship’s presence.
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The sighting of China ‘monster ship’ came only a week after the most violent incident in Ayungin Shoal to date, which even led to what the military deemed as “looting” and which even caused a serious injury to a navy personnel.
Last June 17, CCG rammed, towed, and even boarded Philippine Navy boats during a resupply mission in the shoal, a move which its spokesperson Gan Yu only deem as “control measures”.
Beijing asserts sovereignty in almost the entire South China Sea, including most of the West Philippine Sea, even if such a claim has been effectively invalidated by a July 2016 international tribunal ruling.
The landmark ruling stemmed from a case filed by Manila in 2013, or a year after its tense standoff with Beijing over Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal which the latter now has an effective control of.
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The presence of the “monster ship” within Malaysia’s EEZ also came as a surprise despite Beijing and Kuala Lumpur’s having a good relationship.
“Can’t help but observe the irony. Right after all the feel-good, chest-thumping talk by Anwar about how PRC has been such a great friend, Beijing decided to ‘reward’ Kuala Lumpur in a biggest-possible way: by sending its biggest coastguard vessel to the Malaysian EEZ,” said Singapore-based research fellow Collin Koh of S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in a post on X (formerly Twitter) over the weekend.
Koh continued: “Manila might have taken the brunt of Beijing’s gray zone aggression, which led some to cast doubt as to whether the former could have handled the dispute in a better way.”
“Let’s just say that it simply boils down to whether you choose to suffer in silence and accept such nonsense.”