Nat’l Maritime Council to China: Withdraw ‘monster ship’ from PH EEZ

China Coast Guard ship 5901 (PHOTO FROM PCG)
MANILA, Philippines — The National Maritime Council (NMC) has asked the Chinese government to withdraw its ‘monster ship’ within the Philippine’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), according to National Task Force West Philippine Sea Spokesperson Jonathan Malaya.
The call was made after the NMC announced on Monday that the Philippine government filed a diplomatic protest against the continued illegal presence and operations of Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessels within the country’s EEZ.
“The National Maritime Council already called for the withdrawal of this monster ship from Philippine waters. The NMC issued a statement yesterday asking the Chinese government to withdraw this monster ship because it is clearly an illegal presence in our waters,” Malaya said in a press conference on Tuesday.
“But insofar as the objective of this presence, which is to intimidate our fishermen and intimidate us, we can clearly see that the intimidation tactics are not successful and that we remain resolute in supporting our Filipino fishermen,” he added.
In an earlier statement, the NMC pointed out that the actions of Chinese vessels within the country’s EEZ violated Republic Act No. 12064, the Philippine Maritime Zones Act, and international laws, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2016 arbitral ruling.
Article continues after this advertisementLast week, the Philippine Coast Guard confirmed the presence of the monster ship — CCG vessel 5901 — about 54 nautical miles off the coast of Capones Island.
Beijing’s continued aggression was based on its assertion of sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, including most of the West Philippine Sea, as it continues to reject the 2016 arbitral ruling that effectively dismissed its claims and ruled in favor of Manila.
The landmark ruling stemmed from a case filed by Manila in 2013, a year after its tense standoff with Beijing over Panatag Shoal, whose lagoon the latter now effectively controls.
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