CCG ship spotted ‘pretty close’ to Manila Bay to ‘intercept’ PCG vessel

PHOTO FROM SEALIGHT

[Updated Aug. 15, 2025, 6:55 p.m.]

MANILA, Philippines — A China Coast Guard (CCG) ship was spotted “pretty close” off Manila Bay on Friday, apparently moving to intercept a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessel en route to the general area of Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal days after the collision there, according to a West Philippine Sea monitor.

However, Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, clarified that the CCG ship with bow number 3306 is actually closer to provinces near the area than Manila Bay.

Ray Powell, founder of maritime tracker SeaLight, told the Inquirer that CCG 3306 was “sitting just outside” the 24-nautical-mile contiguous zone, and not within the country’s archipelagic waters, to tail BRP Cape San Agustin.

“China Coast Guard waits just outside Manila Bay for it (BRP Cape San Agustin) to emerge,” Powell, program head of Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, said on X (formerly Twitter).

As of 3:30 p.m., CCG-3306 was spotted 58.90 NM away from Pundaquit village in San Antonio town of Zambales, still at a close distance with Cape San Agustin, spotted 55.33 NM from the same area, according to Tarriela.

CCG zeroes in on Panatag-bound ships

“China seems determined to intercept and escort any Philippine ship moving in Scarborough Shoal’s general direction,” he also said.

Powell noted that it was not the first time a CCG ship had come that close to Manila Bay.

“It’s as close as they get, but I’ve seen them get that close before,” he said.

As of 3:30 p.m., CCG-3306 was spotted 58.90 NM away from Pundaquit village in San Antonio town of Zambales, still at a close distance from Cape San Agustin, spotted 55.33 NM from the same area, according to Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea.

Tarriela said CCG-3306 came as close as 30 NM from Zambales.

He also said BRP Cape San Agustin (MRRV-4408) challenged the presence of CCG-3306.

“The presence of 4408  actually caused [CCG]-3306 to depart from its location,” he said in a press conference.

Manila Bay 

Meanwhile, Tarriela also found issues in using Manila Bay as a point of reference for this ship’s location.

“The problem is, he’s (Powell) actually using Manila Bay, the mouth of Manila Bay, as a point of reference. But in reality, if you look at it, it’s really far,” Tarriela said in a press conference. That’s why I keep on mentioning, we always measure it from Bataan or even from Cavite or even Mindoro. Because it’s much more rational if you’re going to use that as a landmark to measure its location.

“Secondly, if you’re going to use Manila Bay as a point of reference, it will attract so much attention from the public,” he went on. “But in reality, it’s not really inside Manila Bay or it’s not that close from Manila Bay.”

Manila Bay is located in the western part of Luzon facing the West Philippine Sea and is bounded by Cavite and Metro Manila on the east, Bulacan and Pampanga on the north, and Bataan on the west and northwest.

Meanwhile, Powell said that CCG also tailed the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources’ BRP Datu Matanam Taradapit when it passed through near Panatag Shoal “to make sure it goes home and doesn’t decide to visit again.”

The Datu Matanam Taradapit went to Lawak and Patag Islands in the West Philippine Sea and was en route back to Sual Fish Port in Pangasinan, said Powell.

Experts termed Beijing’s approach to Panatag Shoal as an “exclusion zone enforcement,” flouting the 2016 arbitral ruling that declared the area a traditional fishing ground for the Philippines, China, and Vietnam.

‘Unusual’ Chinese survey ship off Panatag

‘Unusual’ Chinese survey ship off Panatag

In what Powell called a “surprising and unusual development,” China also deployed the research ship Xiang Yang Hong 10 one kilometer south of the shoal on Friday.

The research ship is capable of deep-sea surveying, resource exploration, and deploying autonomous underwater vehicles.

On Tuesday, Chinese ships conducted a “parallel sweep” off the shoal, a pattern indicative of a search and rescue (SAR) operation. However, Powell said the activity is unlikely to be SAR.

Earlier, Powell said he did not know the reason behind the survey ship’s presence. But later, he tracked that Xiang Yang Hong 10 repositioned to the mouth of Panatag, “perhaps intending to deploy people and equipment into the shoal’s interior.”

“One reason for this is to see if it is recovering from over a decade of highly destructive giant clam harvesting,” Powell also said.

He said China ended the practice last year while issuing a report about how the shoal was in great condition.

It ended the practice last year as it issued a report about how the shoal was in great condition.

“At SeaLight we believe that is a lie,” he said.

Such developments came after the collision of Chinese vessels off Panatag Shoal in their bid to frustrate the government’s “Kadiwa” outreach program for local fisherfolk on Monday.

The CCG 3104 chased BRP Suluan and performed a risky maneuver on the PCG ship, leading to a collision with a People’s Liberation Army Navy warship with hull number 164.

Both ships sustained damage, with CCG-3104’s forecastle being badly crushed, while BRP Suluan managed to evade the maneuver, according to PCG.

‘Embarrassment’ for China

Security expert Chester Cabalza said China is ramping up its “containment” strategy out of “embarrassment” after the clash of their ships.

“I think we will see more security anxiety not only in the West Philippine Sea, but in the islands and territories of the Philippines, because they were embarrassed,” Cabalza told Inquirer in a phone interview.

“We know that the Chinese don’t like to be embarrassed, so they will really do something to strengthen their forces and that’s what we expect,” Cabalza, president and founder of the Manila-based think tank International Development and Security Cooperation, continued. “We will see more Chinese armada, more swarms of planes and drones from the People’s Liberation Army, that is expected to happen.”

China got advance info?

During Monday’s collision, the Philippine Navy reported eight CCG vessels and 14 Chinese maritime militia vessels there, according to an official data shared on Thursday.

Powell said he recorded the presence of eight CCG vessels and 14 militia vessels there since August 5.

READ: Año: Military assets need not join Scarborough ops yet

But as of Friday, Powell noted a sharp decline, with only three CCG ships and eight militia vessels remaining.

He said that most have returned to China, while two of the militia ships headed toward the Spratly Islands.

“This suggests Beijing had intelligence that the Philippines was planning Monday’s ‘Kadiwa’ operation and augmented its force in anticipation,” he pointed out. /jpv/abc /mr