Philippines Monitors Chinese ‘Monster Ship’ in South China Sea

China's largest coast guard vessel 5901 in Philippine exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea on Jan. 5, 2025. Philippine Coast Guard via Reuters

A large Chinese Coast Guard vessel, dubbed a “monster ship” by the Philippines, has been in Manila’s exclusive economic zone for the past days, Philippine officials said.

As of Monday evening, the Philippine Coast Guard has been monitoring the China Coast Guard vessel CCG-5901 for three days, said Commodore Jay Tarriela, spokesperson for the Philippine National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea.

Speaking to local media on Monday, Jonathan Malaya, spokesperson for the National Security Council, said Philippine planes and ships were “pointed at this monster ship.”

“The moment it [carries out] any provocative action, it will be met with appropriate response,” he said.

Tarriela said in a statement on X that the “erratic movements” of the large ship indicate that “it is not engaged in innocent passage but rather asserts that it is conducting a law enforcement operation, claiming jurisdiction over these waters as belonging to the People’s Republic of China.”

According to Tarriela’s previous statements, the CCG-5901 was 54 nautical miles off the coast of Capones Island of the Philippines Province of Zambales, on Saturday, and around 65 to 70 nautical miles off the coast of Zambales on Sunday.

He said that the Philippine Coast Guard vessel BRP Cabra was continuing to tail and shadow the Chinese vessel to “uphold Philippine sovereign rights.”

The Chinese communist regime continues to push its claims of sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea, having territorial disputes with Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan over the resource-rich sea area.

The regime rejected a 2016 international arbitration ruling by a U.N.-affiliated court in the Hague that invalidated its expansive claims, and it has built up and militarized the islands it controls.

For the past months, the Philippines has accused Chinese vessels of ramming Philippine ships.

On Dec. 4, the Philippines accused Chinese coast guard vessels of firing water cannons and side-swiping one of its patrolling ships, which Filipino officials said were supporting fishermen engaged in fishing in “a routine maritime patrol” in the country’s exclusive economic zone in the contested South China Sea.

Beijing accused the Philippine ships of “dangerously” approaching Chinese ships while seeking to enter what Beijing views as its territorial waters despite the Hague’s ruling.

Manila has also condemned Beijing after flares were fired at Philippine aircraft.

Following the incidents, the United States and others condemned Beijing’s recent aggressive behavior.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in October that the United States was concerned about China’s “increasingly dangerous and unlawful actions” in the South and East China seas.

Cindy Li and Reuters contributed to this report.