China's 'Monster' ship held intrusive patrol near Scarborough —expert

China Coast Guard 5901 known as "The Monster," the largest coast guard ship in the world, conducted a “brief intrusive patrol” near Scarborough Shoal, a maritime expert said on Friday. 

“Over the past 24 hours the world's largest coast guard ship, the 165-meter China Coast Guard 5901, together with the 102-meter CCG 5203, conducted a brief intrusive patrol into the Philippines' EEZ west of Scarborough Shoal,” said US Air Force official and ex-Defence Attaché Ray Powell said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). 

Philippine Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea (WPS) Commodore Roy Trinidad also confirmed that “The Monster” was located 50 nautical miles from Scarborough Shoal as of Friday morning. 

“Yes. It is 50 nautical miles from Scarborough Shoal, Bajo de Masinloc,” he told reporters in an ambush interview during the Philippine Navy anniversary celebratiom at its headquarters in Manila. 

“The actions, the response will be at the NTF (National Task Force) WPS level. It is a China Coast Guard ship. There will be appropriate response from the NTF, most likely the Philippine Coast Guard,” he added.

Scarborough Shoal, also called Bajo de Masinloc or Panatag Shoal, is located within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.

However, it is a place of tension as China claims almost the entire South China Sea. Its territorial claims overlap with those of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei.

On April 30, the PCG said Chinese Coast vessels fired water cannons at Philippine civilian vessels en route to the shoal. The water attacks had caused damage to Philippine vessels. 

Manila calls parts of the waters within its exclusive economic zone as West Philippine Sea.

In 2016, an international arbitration tribunal in the Hague ruled that China's claims over South China Sea has no legal basis, a decision Beijing does not recognize. —Joviland Rita/ VAL, GMA Integrated News