Chinese ‘monster ship’ seen anew in WPS
MANILA, Philippines — The world’s biggest coast guard cutter has been seen again for the first time in almost a year in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
The China Coast Guard (CCG) ship with hull No. 5901 is 165 meters long and 22 meters wide—equivalent to about one and one-half of an average football field—and weighs 12,000 tons.
Maritime monitor SeaLight said the CCG vessel, dubbed the “monster ship,” passed some 74 kilometers (40 nautical miles) off Itbayat town in Batanes province on Sunday.
Before its passage off Batanes, the CCG-5901 conducted an intrusive patrol off central Vietnam, in its first deployment south of Hainan Island since July 2025, according to SeaLight.
“It spent just a brief time off Batanes before turning back west,” SeaLight director Ray Powell told the Inquirer on Tuesday.
As of Tuesday morning, CCG 5901 is now “nearly” back to Hainan Island, said Powell.
Quiet year
The sighting marked the first presence of the “monster ship” in the West Philippine Sea since it was last spotted off Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal in February last year.
“2025 was a quiet year for the Monster,” noted Powell. “It seems to have spent most of its time near the Chinese coastline.”
This was unlike its activity in 2024, when the “monster ship” was observed to be following a route that traced China’s so-called 10-dash line.
Beijing had doubled down on its sweeping claims in the South China Sea by adding a 10th dash covering the eastern section of Taiwan in 2023.
The previous nine-dash line, which encroached on the exclusive economic zones of Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines, was declared baseless and invalid by the 2016 Arbitral Award.
First MCA for 2026
Philippine and US forces, meanwhile, conducted their first Maritime Cooperative Activity for 2026 in the West Philippine Sea over the weekend, with the Philippine Navy confirming that a Chinese warship was monitored near the exercise area but did not interfere with the drills.
Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, said one People’s Liberation Army Navy vessel was observed within the exercise box during the bilateral activity with the US Navy, but “it did not conduct any aggressive or coercive action.”
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said the drills were held Sunday to Monday in waters off Bajo de Masinloc, also known as Scarborough Shoal. The activity marked the 11th PH–US Bilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity and the first for 2026.
The AFP deployed the guided-missile frigate BRP Antonio Luna (FF-151), FA-50 fighter jets, an A-29 Super Tucano aircraft and an AW109 helicopter, while the Philippine Coast Guard contributed the offshore patrol vessel BRP Gabriela Silang (OPV-8301). The US Indo-Pacific Command fielded the guided-missile destroyer USS John Finn (DDG-113) and an MH-60R Seahawk helicopter.
Participating forces conducted a series of combined naval and air activities, including replenishment-at-sea drills, surface warfare exercises, night steaming, photo exercises and passing exercises, the AFP said.
Security cooperation
The AFP said the maritime activity aimed to enhance interoperability and maritime security cooperation between the two allies amid ongoing tensions in the West Philippine Sea.
The Philippine Navy also reported monitoring 55 Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea from Jan. 18 to Jan. 25, underscoring the continued presence of Beijing’s military and paramilitary forces in disputed waters.
In Bajo de Masinloc, the Navy observed four Chinese Navy (PLAN) warships, four China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels, and five maritime militia ships. At Ayungin Shoal, three CCG vessels and two maritime militia ships were sighted.
Escoda Shoal saw two CCG vessels and five maritime militia ships, while around Pag-asa Island, one PLAN warship, one CCG vessel, and 28 maritime militia ships were recorded.
The Navy said the monitoring is part of its regular maritime surveillance of key features in the West Philippine Sea. /cb
