Chinese coast guard vessel 5901, dubbed “The Monster” for its size, has maintained an “illegal presence” in Philippine waters for a week, said a spokesperson for the country’s navy.
Roy Vincent Trinidad told reporters on Tuesday that the CCG 5901 has been near Sabina Shoal, known in the Philippines as Escoda Shoal, since July 3.
Manila’s biggest and most modern coast guard ship – the BRP Teresa Magbanua – has been shadowing the movements of the Chinese vessel, he said.
The 2,260-ton Philippine multi-role response vessel, however, is dwarfed by “The Monster” which is five times its size.
At some points, the Chinese ship was only about 500 meters (1,640 feet) from the BRP Teresa Magbanua, according to Trinidad.
Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), foreign vessels can conduct so-called innocent passage and freedom of navigation operations. However, the spokesperson said: “We are monitoring them because they should not be conducting any maritime research, they should not be doing anything detrimental to the security of the state.”
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