Chinese ship conducting ‘intrusive patrol’ spotted near Manila Bay

China Coast Guard vessel with hull number 3304 (appears similar to this ship) was spotted just 50 nautical miles from the Luzon coast —File photo from the PCG

MANILA, Philippines — A China Coast Guard (CCG) ship conducted what a maritime expert deemed an “intrusive patrol” relatively near Manila Bay in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) on Wednesday.

The Chinese vessel with hull number 3304 was spotted just 50 nautical miles from the Luzon coast at 9:59 a.m., according to SeaLight founder Ray Powell.

While Powell said the patrol complies with international law, he noted that the CCG vessel’s activity there was aggressive.

“This is clearly a patrol … but obviously aggressive and intended to send a message that China has jurisdiction,” Powell, program head of Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, told the Inquirer over X (formerly Twitter). “That’s why we classify it as an ‘intrusive patrol.’”

READ: PH slams Chinese ‘intrusion’ claims

Manila has sovereign rights over the WPS and is entitled to conduct economic activities in the western section of its exclusive economic zone, but other nations are still entitled to freedom of navigation and overflight there.

Chinese claim invalidated

China asserts sovereignty in the entire South China Sea, including most of the WPS, but the landmark 2016 arbitral award effectively invalidated this claim in favor of Manila’s sovereign rights.

In 2013, then President Benigno S. Aquino III brought China before the Permanent Court of Arbitration a year after Manila’s standoff with Beijing over Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal.

Since 2012, China has had effective control of Panatag Shoal, and since then, at least two CCG ships have been stationed outside the lagoon at any given time, according to Filipino authorities.

Powell said that CCG-3304 was patrolling around Panatag Shoal before arriving near Manila Bay on Monday, July 21.

The CCG vessel’s presence there came amid rough seas brought about by the southwest monsoon (habagat).

Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, the Philippine Navy spokesperson for the WPS, said that around 49 CCG and People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy ships were monitored in the WPS for the month of June.

It was the highest number of vessels recorded this year, but authorities expected this number to drop.

“Historically, because of weather disturbances, these numbers drastically drop … they also seek shelter in the areas not affected by the weather,” Trinidad said in a regular military press conference on Tuesday.

“So we expect for this particular timeframe, the number of PLA-Navy ships, Coast Guard, and even the maritime militia would be [fewer] than the last report.”

However, Trinidad said the Chinese ships and warships will return to their usual activities after the weather disturbance.

“The trend is after any weather disturbance, the numbers always increase,” he said. “They go back to their regular, normal presence.” /cb