2 China Coast Guard vessels passed near El Nido, PCG confirms

This photo shows an aerial view of China Coast Guard vessel inside Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea on February 16, 2024. (Photo by JAM STA ROSA /  AFP)

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Tuesday confirmed that two China Coast Guard (CCG) ships sailed near El Nido, Palawan.

“It’s actually moving and is not stationary,” said Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, in an interview with reporters. 

“It did not approach El Nido, it went north again,” Tarriela said.

West Philippine Sea monitor Ray Powell said the two CCG ships with hull numbers 3015 and 3301 passed about 40 nautical miles from El Nido.

“China sent 2 coast guard ships on an intrusive patrol to assert its sovereignty claims over the West Philippine Sea,” Powell, program head of Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation which monitors Chinese vessels activity in South China Sea, said in a post on X on Monday evening. 

Meanwhile, Tarriela said CCG 5901 or the so-called “monster ship” remains in Escoda (Sabina) Shoal as of Tuesday.

CCG’s gigantic patrol cutter, which is the largest coast guard vessel in the world, has been deployed off Escoda Shoal since July 3. 

BRP Teresa Magbanua was deployed in Escoda Shoal on April 16 to become the longest-deployed PCG asset in the West Philippine Sea following suspected reclamation activities around the shoal.

Tarriela said the enormous ship’s distance from BRP Teresa Magbanua is about 0.57 nautical miles or about one kilometer.

Manila is holding the line in the West Philippine Sea as Beijing asserts sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, including most of the exclusive economic zone of the country’s western section, even if such a claim has been effectively invalidated by the arbitral award in July 2016.

The landmark ruling stemmed from a case filed by Manila in 2013, or a year after its tense standoff with Beijing over Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal.