China's ''Monster'' ship enters EEZs of Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei
China's ''Monster'' ship, said to be the biggest in the world, entered the exclusive economic zones of Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei in its recent patrol in the South China Sea.
Using Canada's Dark Vessel Detection technology, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, Commodore Jay Tarriela said the PCG was able to track the movement of the Chinese Coast Guard's 'Monster'' ship (CCG 5901) for the past ten days.
Tarriela said "on June 17th, CCG 5901 departed from Hainan and directly encroached upon the territorial waters of the Philippine-occupied features of Parola and Pagasa", violating the country's sovereignty.
"It then proceeded to enter Zamora Reef, where it stayed overnight, before eventually continuing its voyage by passing through Bayani and Union Banks," he said.
"On June 20th, she entered Kagitingan Reef and possibly resupplied for logistics before continuing on her long voyage, entering the Exclusive Economic Zones of Malaysia and Brunei," he added.
After its patrol with the EEZ of Malaysia and Brunei the monster ship "once again headed north and entered the Philippine EEZ" and "passed through Rizal Reef" before it "made a supply stop at Panganiban Reef on June 23rd."
"The following day, she continued to navigate within the Philippines EEZ, selectively passing through Lawak and Patag, and then making a quick southeasterly turn to pass through Escoda Shoal," he said.
After passing through Escoda Shoal, Tarriela noted that "CCG 5901 proceeded directly towards El Nido, Palawan, maintaining a close distance of 34 nautical miles from its coastline".
"From there, it made a quick turn towards Bajo De Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal), where it joined three other China Coast Guard vessels that were deployed in the area. After spending a few hours loitering at BDM, CCG 5901 sailed back towards Hainan," he said.
As of 8am Thursday, Tarriela said that "the most recent data shows that CCG 5901 is last monitored at a distance of 46 nautical miles southeast of Sanya, Hainan." Robina Asido/DMS
