Navy chief says China ship off Lubang Island was doing innocent passage

MANILA, Philippines — The presence of a Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) ship near Lubang Island, now located west of Palawan, was deemed as an innocent passage.

“Hindi siya bawal sapagkat under Unclos (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) they could go through the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of a coastal state under freedom of navigation. Pag sa territorial sea naman 12 nautical miles from the baseline that is an innocent passage,” Navy spokesperson Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said in an interview over DZBB.

(They are not forbidden to pass through because, under Unclos, they could go through the EEZ of a coastal state under freedom of navigation. In the territorial sea, 12 nautical miles from the innocent passage baseline.)

READ: West Philippine Sea: China Coast Guard’s ‘monster ship’ still in Escoda – PCG

Under Article 19 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, a passage may be deemed innocent “so long as it is not prejudicial to the peace, good order or security of the coastal State.”

West Philippine Sea (WPS) monitor Ray Powell revealed last July 14 that a 135-meter CCG ship with hull number 5303 was within the country’s EZZ.

The ship was spotted some 60 nautical miles (nm) west of Lubang Island and is now loitering around Seahorse Shoal west of Palawan.

Screengrab from X

Aside from this, CCG’s “monster ship” 5901 remains anchored within Escoda (Sabina) Shoal.

But Trinidad assured the public they were monitoring the two ships and aware of their whereabouts.

Reports said CCG’s gigantic patrol cutter, also the largest coast guard vessel in the world, had been deployed off Escoda Shoal on July 3.