A China Coast Guard (CCG) ship seized the opportunity to move closer to Luzon landmass after a Chinese research vessel transited Palawan over the weekend, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) revealed.

The CCG ship with bow number “3304” was kept at a distance of 78 to 85 nautical miles from the coast of Zambales by PCG ship BRP Cabra (MRRV-4409) since last week. However, the PCG ship had to leave her post to shadow Chinese research/fishery vessel “Lan Hai 101”, which was detected navigating the eastern portion of Palawan last Feb. 9.

“When Lan Hai 101 departed Palawan, it went up straight. This is the reason why BRP Cabra had to leave Zambales to shadow [Lan Hai 101] until she reached the northern part,” PCG spokesperson for West Philippine Sea (WPS) Commodore Jay Tarriela said in an online press briefing on Wednesday, Feb. 12.

After BRP Cabra shadowed Lan Hai 101, no more Philippine vessels were challenging CCG-3304 in Zambales. CCG-3304 took advantage of the situation and followed Lan Hai 101 as it moved northward until the Chinese coast guard ship reached Bolinao, Pangasinan.

As of 11 .am. Wednesday, CCG-3304 managed to establish its position at 43 nautical miles off the coast of Bolinao while Lan Hai 101 continued to move northward before turning its automatic identification system (AIS). Its last known location as of 11 a.m. was 62 nautical miles off the coast of Babuyan Island.

Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, Philippine Navy (PN) spokesperson for WPS, earlier stated that the transit of Lan Hai 101 within the archipelagic waters of the Philippines was allowed under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as it was expeditious and unimpeded.

The Navy admiral said Lan Hai 101 passed through the Philippines’ archipelagic sea lanes because of the adverse sea conditions and inclement weather on the western side of Palawan.

READ: Navy monitors Chinese research vessel inside PH archipelagic waters

However, Tarriela suspects something fishy about the Chinese fishery/research vessel.

“Honestly, it has been continuous and expeditious. But what is quite suspicious about the movement of China research/fishery vessel Lan Hai [101] is that it keeps on entering our contiguous zone,” Tarriela said, referring to an area of sea adjacent to the territorial sea which extends up to 24 nautical miles from a coastal state's baselines.

“[Lan Hai 101] maintains a distance of 23, 24, 25 nautical miles off the coast of Luzon island. Although BRP Cabra keeps on pushing her further away from our contiguous zone, she was insisting to enter our waters,” the PCG commodore added.

Asked what could be the reason why Lan Hai 101 kept on entering the Philippines’ contiguous zone, Tarriela responded: “Since we still don't know yet their original intent, we can just speculate as many as possibilities that we can think of.”

BDM swarm

As if it was not enough, the CCG has also swarmed Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough or Panatag Shoal), which is located 124 nautical miles from Masinloc, Zambales.

Tarriela said the CCG deployed one more ship to Bajo de Masinloc to reinforce three CCG vessels that are already in the area. The CCG has been maintaining its presence off the coast of Zambales since January 4. Occasionally, a CCG ship would retreat from Zambales only to be replaced by a new vessel coming from Bajo de Masinloc.

“Originally, the CCG vessels that we are monitoring in Bajo de Masinloc are CCG-5901 which is the ‘monster ship’, CCG-3103, and CCG-3502. This time, one more CCG vessel arrived. It left China on February 10, and today, it’s already in Bajo de Masinloc,” he said. The newcomer was identified as CCG-5303.

To ensure that no reclamation is happening in the area, PCG Commandant, Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan ordered the deployment of a Coast Guard aircraft, BRP Cabra, and other PCG vessels to monitor the four CCG ships in Bajo de Masinloc as well as the CCG-3304 in Pangasinan.

“The priority of our aerial patrols and intelligence gathering is to make sure that the Chinese government [is] not carrying out illegal reclamation in Bajo de Masinloc,” Tarriela said. “So far, we can say that the Chinese government [is] not doing reclamation in Bajo de Masinloc, so it's more on intimidation.”