West Philippine Sea: Chinese warship in Panatag crash no longer sighted

China Coast Guard-3104 sustains damage to its forecastle after being rammed by the Chinese navy in Panatag Shoal on Monday. | 📷: PTV reporter Patrick De Jesus via John Eric Mendoza, INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — The Chinese warship involved in the August 11 collision at Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal has not been monitored in the West Philippine Sea since the incident, National Maritime Council spokesperson Alexander Lopez said Monday.

Lopez said the People’s Liberation Army-Navy vessel with bow number 164 has not reappeared in the area after it collided with a China Coast Guard (CCG) ship, 3104.

The CCG vessel was chasing the Philippine Coast Guard ship BRP Suluan at high speed when it rammed the PLA-N warship, crushing its forecastle and sending four Chinese crew members overboard.

READ: Repairs on CCG ship in Panatag collision may take 2 months — PH Navy

Reuters reported last week that the 80-meter CCG ship is under repair at a naval base in China’s Hainan Island.

Lopez said the PLA No. 164 is also expected to undergo repairs.

Since its effective takeover in 2012, China has enforced what experts call “exclusion zone enforcement” around the Panatag Shoal, outright flouting the 2016 Arbitral Award that declared the area a traditional fishing ground for the Philippines, China, and Vietnam.

READ: ‘Major loss of face’: China experts weigh in on ‘news blackout’ of Scarborough collision

Beijing claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, but the landmark international ruling effectively dismissed this in favor of Manila’s sovereign rights. /dl