The Philippines protests China’s placement of a “monster ship” in its maritime zone South China Sea News

A spokesman for the Philippine National Security Council said Manila was surprised by China’s “escalating aggression” in the maritime dispute.

The Philippines said China’s deployment of its largest coast guard vessel inside Manila’s exclusive maritime economic zone (EEZ) was alarming and clearly aimed at intimidating fishermen who ply around a shoal in the disputed waters of the South China Sea.

Philippine National Security Council spokesman Jonathan Malaya said on Tuesday that Manila contested the presence of the 165-meter (541-foot) Chinese coast guard vessel 5901, which was spotted 77 nautical miles (142 km) off the coast of Zambales province. He demanded that he leave the MEB.

“We were surprised by the increasing aggression of the People’s Republic of China in deploying the monster ship,” Malaya said.

He said the ship’s presence was “illegal” and “unacceptable”, adding: “This is tension and provocation.”

The Philippine Coast Guard said it had deployed two of its largest vessels to try to ward off the Chinese vessel.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Monday that the coast guard’s “patrol and law enforcement activities” in the region were “reasonable, legal and beyond reproach”.

The Philippine National Maritime Council also on Monday condemned the “illegal presence and operations” of “Chinese naval forces and militias” in the country’s territorial waters and EEZ, identifying two coast guard vessels and a Chinese navy helicopter. Philippine Coast Guard Ship.

“The escalating actions of these Chinese ships and aircraft are in flagrant disregard for Philippine and international law,” the council said in a statement.

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 | 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐒𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐄𝐄𝐄𝐄𝐄𝐄𝐄𝐄𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐏𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐏𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐄𝐄𝐙 pic.twitter.com/0sN0qiy7If

— Office of the President of the Marine Corps (@POMC57) January 13, 2025

Tensions between the Philippines and Beijing have risen markedly over the past two years over overlapping claims in the South China Sea.

In 2016, an international tribunal ruled that China’s claims to much of the disputed waterway had no merit, a decision Beijing rejected.

China’s extensive claims overlap with the EEZs of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

The South China Sea is a strategic shipping route through which approximately $3 trillion in annual trade passes.