3 CCG ships pass near Batanes in ‘very unusual’ pattern – WPS tracker

The track of Chinese coast guard ships with hull numbers 3301, 3304, and 4304 shows the vessels approaching the Bashi Channel. PHOTO FROM SEALIGHT

MANILA, Philippines — Three China Coast Guard (CCG) ships were monitored near the waters off Batanes province in what a maritime expert deemed as a “very unusual” track.

As of 7:44 a.m. Thursday, CCG ships with hull numbers 3301 and 3304 were spotted passing through the Bashi Channel, while another CCG ship with hull number 4304 was patrolling 70 nautical miles northwest off Batanes, according to SeaLight director Ray Powell, who regularly tracks Chinese ships in the West Philippine Sea.

“I almost never see the CCG near Batanes, and this is the first time I’ve seen any pass through the Bashi Channel in my years of monitoring,” Powell, program head of Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, told Inquirer in a message on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday.

“Very unusual track for CCG — not clear where they’re headed,” he also said.

Nevertheless, Powell said the activities of three CCG ships were technically legal, but their purpose remained suspicious.

“The transit of CCG 3301 and 3304 is highly unusual but legal under international law (so far),” Powell said.

“Meanwhile, CCG 4304 specifically has been loitering … within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone since last night, which is also legal but aggressive—I would classify it as an intrusive patrol,” he added.

Bashi Channel is a strategic waterway between Batanes’ Mavulis Island and Taiwan’s Orchid Island that connects the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean.

READ: Chinese research ship may have collected intel off Babuyan Island

On Sunday, a Chinese research ship also passed by Babuyan Island, which is also near the channel, and Powell previously said the vessel may have collected intelligence while in the area. /jpv