WPS monitor: Chinese research ships gone but militia vessels return

File photo of a China Coast Guard ship which suffers damage to its forecastle after colliding with another Chinese vessel off Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal on Aug. 11. VIDEOGRAB FROM JAY TARRIELA’S X ACCOUNT

MANILA, Philippines — Most of the Chinese vessels that fled Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal due to Tropical Depression Isang over the weekend are now back. Specifically, militia and China Coast Guard ships, according to West Philippine Sea monitor on Monday.

Chinese vessels, including research, militia, and CCG ships, have been observed leaving the vicinity of Panatag whenever there is a tropical cyclone.

And last Saturday, as Isang was pushing east from Luzon, autonomous drone mothership Zhu Hai Yun and six maritime militia ships have left the vicinity of Panatag, according to SeaLight director Ray Powell. He added that Zhu Hai Yun “appears to be returning directly to China.”

But two large China Coast Guard (CCG) ships stayed to ride out the tropical cyclone that time. As of Monday, Powell said they were joined by militia ships which returned to Scarborough.

READ: West-philippine-sea-chinese-militia-ships-flee-panatag-as-enteng-approaches/

“There are now no research ships visible there anymore,” Powell, program head of Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, told Inquirer in a message on X (formerly Twitter).

As of Monday, there are five CCG ships and six Chinese maritime militia in the vicinity of Scarborough.

Zhu Hai Yun arrived there early last week. It had joined Xiang Yang Hong 10, a deep-sea research ship which has been in the area since Aug. 15 before leaving on Aug. 22.

READ: Chinese-research-ship-leaves-panatag-but-mothership-remains/

The presence of two ships came after the Aug. 11 collision between a People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) warship and a CCG vessel in its botched attempt to frustrate a Philippine Coast Guard-led mission for Filipino fisherfolk.

A 157-meter PLA-N warship with hull no. 164 joined the blocking operations against BRP Suluan, leading to the Chinese warship colliding with a CCG ship with hull no. 3104.

Both Chinese ships suffered damage, with CCG-3104’s forecastle being crushed while four of its crew went overboard. On the other hand, BRP Suluan managed to evade the maneuver.

On Aug. 12, Powell said Chinese ships were seen in a “parallel sweep” track, which was indicative of a search and rescue (SAR) operation.

Zhu Hai Yun can deploy more than 50 air, surface, and subsea drones, but Powell previously said its purpose is “definitely not SAR.”

Since its effective control in 2012, China has conducted what Powell termed as exclusion zone enforcement in Panatag Shoal, flouting the 2016 arbitral award, which declared it a shared fishing ground of China, Vietnam, and the Philippines. /mr