China’s ‘monster ship’ keeps ignoring PH call to leave WPS

MANILA, Philippines — The world’s largest coast guard vessel, China Coast Guard (CCG) 5901, is maintaining its presence off Zambales province in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) despite Manila’s calls for Beijing to withdraw the ship as the incoming US secretary of state urged China to “stop messing around” with the Philippines.

Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Commodore Jay Tarriela, the PCG spokesperson for the WPS, said on Wednesday night that the BRP Gabriela Silang has been constantly challenging the presence of the Chinese ship.

The 165-meter CCG 5901 has been dubbed the “Monster” for its size, dwarfing the PCG’s biggest vessels, the BRP Teresa Magbanua and BRP Melchora Aquino, both 97 meters.

“Throughout the day, the movements of the China Coast Guard vessel have not been continuous or expeditious, failing to meet the necessary criteria for exercising the right of innocent passage,” Tarriela said.

He said the smaller 83-m BRP Gabriela Silang “effectively maintained a protective position through skillful seamanship” to keep the CCG 5901 at an average distance of about 111 kilometers to 130 km from the Philippine coastline.

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“The PCG’s close maneuvering against the China Coast Guard vessel is vital to prevent it from approaching forward the Zambales coast,” he said.

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Radio challenge

The CCG vessel, according to him, issued a radio challenge to the Gabriela Silang, telling it to keep away as it was violating the 1972 Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea.

Tarriela said that “this allegation disregards the more critical issue of the China Coast Guard’s illegal presence within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.”

“The Philippine Coast Guard remains committed to safeguarding the nation’s maritime interests and will continue to monitor and address any threats to its maritime jurisdiction, sovereign rights, and sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea,” he said.

The PCG first reported the presence of the “Monster” in Philippine waters this year on Jan. 4, but US maritime expert Ray Powell said it first entered Manila’s 370-km exclusive economic zone on New Year’s Day.

Trump aide’s warning

In Washington, incoming US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Beijing against its aggressive actions in the South China Sea.

“In the last 48 hours, there is this massive [ship], I don’t know how you will describe it, that is headed towards the Philippines and the Philippines feels threatened by it, rightfully so,” Rubio said during the US Senate foreign relations committee hearing for his confirmation.

“If, God forbid, there is some miscommunication or some inadvertent conflict emerges there, we have obligations to them,” he added.

Rubio also said that Beijing’s illegal actions in the South China Sea would have “enormous” global impact.

Nothing rash, irrational

The Philippines and the United States have a Mutual Defense Treaty, a 1951 agreement between the two allies to come to each other’s defense in case of an armed attack, including in the South China Sea.

“If the Chinese are in fact serious about stabilizing US-China relations and finding avenues which we could be cooperative and avoid conflict, then they will not do anything rash or irrational when it comes to Taiwan or the Philippines for that matter,” Rubio said.

China considers self-ruled Taiwan, the Philippines’ closest northern neighbor, a breakaway Chinese territory which Beijing is determined to take back by all means.

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“The actions they are taking now are deeply destabilizing,” he said. “They are forcing us to take counter actions because we have commitments to the Philippines and commitments to Taiwan that we intend to keep.”

If China wants “to create pathways for stabilization of our relationship with them,” Rubio said, “they really need to stop messing around with Taiwan and the Philippines because it forces us to focus our attention in ways we prefer not to have to.”

At a press briefing in Manila earlier this week, the Philippines called on China to immediately end the “illegal,” “alarming” and “unacceptable” presence of CCG 5901 off the coast of Zambales.

Jonathan Malaya, spokesperson for the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS), said the Philippines made “a clear request and demand with the Chinese government to withdraw their ship.”

“So, let’s see what their response will be. We’ll take it from there,” he said.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a strategic waterway where about $3 trillion worth of trade passes annually.

The Asian superpower has rejected a 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidated its claims in the resource-rich sea.