A China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel has been conducting ''intrusive patrol'' outside Manila Bay on Thursday, a maritime security expert said.

“China's intrusive patrols continue with China Coast Guard 3301 cruising outside Manila Bay this morning,” retired US Air Force Col. Ray Powell said on X (formerly Twitter).

He added that CCG 3105 has put its Automatic Identification System (AIS) dark since Monday, July 22.

Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela confirmed the presence of two Chinese ships.

In a separate X post, Tarriela said that using Canada's Dark Vessel Detection technology, they were able to detect CCG vessel 3302 “traveling at a speed of nine knots approximately 62.08 nautical miles west of Capones Island, Zambales”.

“CCGV 3301 departed from Bajo de Masinloc on July 21, 2024, and headed towards El Nido, Palawan, where it joined the Zhaotim-class CCGV 3105,” Tarriela said.

He said that on that on Sunday, CCG vessel 3301 left Scarborough Shoal (locally known as Bajo de Masinloc) and went to El Nido, Palawan to join CCG vessel 3105.

Two days later, CCG vessel 3301 headed northeast of Recto Bank and stayed there for a day before cruising near Manila Bay.

“Meanwhile, CCGV 3105, which has been experiencing irregular AIS transmission since July 22, 2024, showed no significant movements and remained 64.5 NM (nautical miles) away from Tapiutan, El Nido, Palawan,” Tarriela said. Jaspearl Tan/DMS