The Philippines on Tuesday called on China to withdraw its China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel 5901, also known as the “monster ship,” from Philippine waters.
“The Philippine government is alarmed by the presence of the monster ship,” National Task Force – West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said in a press briefing.
“And we have made a clear request and demand with the Chinese government to withdraw their ship. So let’s see what their response will be. We’ll take it from there,” he added.
Malaya said the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has already issued a diplomatic protest against the presence of the monster ship.
“Since we have diplomatic mechanisms with the [People’s Republic of China], we will utilize all of those diplomatic mechanisms. I was told by the DFA that we will raise this matter,” he said.
“They have already issued a diplomatic protest against the presence of the monster ship and that they will exhaust diplomatic efforts to also relay this message to the PRC that the presence of the monster ship is illegal and unacceptable,” he added.
Meanwhile, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson for the WPS Commodore Jay Tarriela said their two largest vessels, BRP Teresa Magbanua and BRP Gabriela Silang, have been deployed to drive away the monster ship from the Zambales coast.
“We have two Coast Guard vessels pushing the China Coast Guard 5901 to move further away from the coast of Zambales. That is the Philippine Coast Guard vessel Gabriela Silang 8301 and 9701 or the BRP Teresa Magbanua,” Tarriela said.
As of Tuesday morning, Tarriela said the monster ship was located 77 miles west of Capones Island. The PCG first confirmed the presence of the Chinese vessel near Capones Island on January 4.
BRP Teresa Magbanua has returned to monitoring the monster ship after experiencing a “minor” derangement on Monday morning, according to the PCG.
“I’m not an engineer to explain why there was an overheating. But right now the Philippine Coast Guard 9701 is back in the game. They’re once again blocking the China Coast Guard 5901,” he said.
“It is not a serious derangement. It was just a very minor one. It only took them like less than six hours to probably give some time for all the engines to rest and then eventually went back to the location of the China Coast Guard 5901,” he added.
Tensions continue as Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual shipborne commerce, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei.
In 2016, an international arbitration tribunal in Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines over China’s claims in the South China Sea, saying that it had “no legal basis.”
China has not recognized the decision.
–VAL, GMA Integrated News
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