‘Monster’ China coast guard cutter sighted off Panatag

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Jun 27, 2024): ‘Monster’ China coast guard cutter sighted off Panatag (By: Nestor Corrales)

The 12,000-ton China Coast Guard 5901 is the world’s largest coast guard ship —photo from https://www.sealight.live

MANILA, Philippines — After passing near the BRP Sierra Madre at Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea earlier this week, the world’s largest coast guard ship owned by China again made an “intrusive patrol” at Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal on Wednesday, according to an American maritime expert.

Ray Powell, the director of SeaLight, a program of Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation that tracks Chinese activities in the West Philippine Sea, said the Zhaotou-class China Coast Guard (CCG) patrol cutter passed within 1 to 2 kilometers of the shoal of Panatag at 7 a.m. on Wednesday.

The CCG ship, nicknamed “The Monster” because of its size, came closer to the shoal this time compared to May when it was seen 93 km (50 nautical miles) off Panatag.

READ: West Philippine Sea monitor spots China ‘monster ship’ near Ayungin

Panatag has been controlled by China since 2012 after a standoff with the Philippine Navy.

“Scarborough Shoal was China Coast Guard 5901’s final visit in its intrusive patrol of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone,” Powell said in a post on X.

In November last year, Gaute Friis, a defense innovation scholar at Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, said in a SeaLight story that intrusive patrolling describes how the CCG “routinely patrols within the exclusive economic zones (EEZ) of other states.”

“These patrols are a key component of China’s strategy to reinforce its expansive maritime claims in disputed waters. By doing so, China aims to establish a continuous presence and gradually normalize its maritime activities in these areas,” Friis said.
Within 1 km

Aside from again patrolling at Panatag, China’s monster ship also came “quite close” to the BRP Sierra Madre on Monday, according to Powell.

“I would estimate quite close—probably within 1 km, but maybe closer,” he said. On Tuesday morning, he said it was spotted 74 km (40 nautical miles) from El Nido town in Palawan, adding that the CCG ship also passed by Pag-asa Island and Sabina Shoal in the West Philippine Sea.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines has confirmed that the CCG ship was indeed spotted near the BRP Sierra Madre.

“The presence of this 12,000-ton CCG ship near BRP Sierra Madre is part of a broader pattern of intrusive patrols aimed at asserting unlawful claims over areas within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone,” the AFP said in a statement.

China’s monster ship made the intrusive patrol as the AFP said 124 Chinese vessels were swarming various parts of the West Philippine Sea from June 18 to June 24.

https://www.inquirer.net/407478/monster-china-coast-guard-cutter-sighted-off-panatag/