Coast Guard spots 'illegal presence' of 2 Chinese vessels near Pangasinan

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said Sunday it detected the movement of two Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessels about 34 nautical miles off the coast of Pangasinan.

In a statement, the PCG said the foreign vessels near Pangasinan, which is within the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone, were spotted through its Dark Vessel Detection program.

Philippine Coast Guard Tracks China Coast Guard Vessels off Pangasinan Coast

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has detected the movement of two China Coast Guard vessels approximately 34 nautical miles off the coast of Pangasinan through its Dark Vessel Detection (DVD) program.… pic.twitter.com/6hUtrr85h1

— Jay Tarriela (@jaytaryela) February 2, 2025

PCG Commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan has ordered a Coast Guard BN-2 Islander aircraft to visually identify the CCG vessels and initiate a radio challenge.

“At around 9:30 AM today, the PCG aircraft confirmed the illegal presence of the China Coast Guard vessels, identified by bow numbers 3301 and 3104. Notably, the CCG vessels did not respond to the radio challenge issued by the PCG,” it said.

Two 44-meter PCG vessels, BRP Cabra (MRRV-4409) and BRP Bagacay (MRRV-4410), have been dispatched to Bolinao, Pangasinan to address the Chinese incursion.

“[The ships are] to address the illegal presence of the China Coast Guard and reinforce the Philippine government's position against the normalization of illegal patrols by the People's Republic of China (PRC) within the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ),” the PCG said.

In a report by Jonathan Andal in 24 Oras Weekend, the two CCG vessels reached as close as 34 nautical miles or 63 kilometers from shore line of Bolinao, Pangasinan on Sunday.

The PCG Islander radioed the CCG ships, "You do not possess any legal authority to patrol within the Philippine Economic Zone."

The Chinese ships did not respond to the radio challenge.

The PCG said China is trying to make it appear that its illegal patrols inside the Philippines' EEZ is normal.

Despite these repeated provocations, the Coast Guard said it will be professional and careful in responding to these intrusions to avoid heightening tensions in the West Philippine Sea.

Aside the two vessels, the CCG's "Monster Ship" 5901 returned to within 110 nautical miles of the Zamabales coast where it was intercepted by the BRP Teresa Magbanua.

In response to the Magbanua's radio challenge that it was intruding into Philippine territory, the CCG responded, "The so-called award for the South China Sea arbitration is illegal and invalid. China neither questions nor recognizes." 

The "monster ship" replaced the smaller CCG 3304 which according to the PCG it managed to drive away from Zambales.

GMA Integrated News has reached out to the Chinese Embassy regarding the issue. —RF, GMA Integrated News