Philippines calls on China to withdraw “Monster” ship: NSC
The Philippine government has called on China to withdraw its “Monster” ship which has been within the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) for at least a week, the National Security Council (NSC) said Tuesday.
In a press briefing, NSC Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya said that China’s move to deploy its largest coast guard vessel was an ''escalation'' and provocation.
“We have already made that call for the PRC (People’s Republic of China) to withdraw its 'Monster' ship for reasons that, number one…We do not want to normalize this behavior. It is an escalation and provocative,” Malaya said.
As of Monday, the ''Monster'' ship has been kept at a ''considerable distance of approximately 95 mautical miles off the coast of Zambales'', the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
China Coast Guard vessel 5901 has a length of 165 meters and is to be the world's biggest vessel. In contrast, the PCG's two biggest ships are 97 meters.
He also stressed that the ship's presence 77 nautical miles off the waters of Capones island in Zambales was “clearly not acceptable”.
Malaya said that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) filed a diplomatic protest to China.
“I was told by the Department of Foreign Affairs that they will raise this matter…they have already issued a diplomatic protest against the presence of the 'Monster 's hip and they will exhaust diplomatic efforts to also relay this message to the PRC that the presence of the Monster ship is illegal and unacceptable to the Philippine government,” Malaya said.
Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela said China has deployed the ''Monster'' ship to the country’s EEZ three times. Jaspearl Tan/DMS
