West Philippine Sea: Chinese ship spotted patrolling near Lubang Island

Photo from X/@GordianKnotRay

MANILA, Philippines —  A 135-meter Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) ship was spotted some 60 nautical miles (nm) west of Lubang Island on Sunday afternoon, according to an American maritime expert.

“At 16:20 (4:20 p.m.) yesterday the 135-meter China Coast Guard 5303 arrived 60nm west of the Philippines’ Lubang Island and is now conducting an intrusive patrol at that location,” West Philippine Sea (WPS) monitor Ray Powell posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Monday.

🚨At 16:20 yesterday the 135-meter 🇨🇳#China Coast Guard 5303 arrived 60nm west of the 🇵🇭#Philippines‘ Lubang Island & is now conducting an intrusive patrol (https://t.co/XMHhupl45m) at that location. pic.twitter.com/tzl6vb94CG

— Ray Powell (@GordianKnotRay) July 15, 2024

INQUIRER.net sought the confirmation of Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) regarding the report, but it has yet to reply as of posting.

READ: West Philippine Sea: 2016 arbitral award ‘a political circus’, says China

Last July 7, Powell revealed that a 102-meter-long CCG ship, along with at least six maritime militia vessels, reportedly intercepted two PCG boats near Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal in the WPS.

Prior to this, he also reported last July 3 that CCG’s biggest vessel, dubbed the “monster ship,” returned to the WPS amid ongoing talks between Manila and Beijing.

It returned after leaving the country’s exclusive economic zone on June 27.