A China Coast Guard (CCG) ship that came alarmingly close to Manila Bay appears to have been forced to retreat by rough seas, maritime watchdog Sealight said on Thursday.
Sealight Director Ray Powell told the Manila Standard that the CCG ship with hull number 3304 has now moved west past the Bajo de Masinloc in Zambales waters after spending two days near Manila Bay.
“Now it’s moved west past Scarborough Shoal. It’s possible the weather has caused it to redeploy back to China,” Powell told Manila Standard.
He called the Chinese ship’s presence an “intrusive patrol.”
Earlier this week, the CCG 3304 conducted an activity just 50 nautical miles off the Luzon coast.
“This is clearly a patrol…but obviously aggressive and intended to send a message that China has jurisdiction,” Powell, program head of Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, said. “That’s why we classify it as an ‘intrusive patrol’.”
Powell said this CCG-3304 was patrolling around Panatag Shoal before arriving near Manila Bay on July 21.
“So far, there’s no indication that it plans to redeploy,” Powell said of the 111-meter-long CCG vessel.
The CCG vessel’s presence there comes even as the area experiences tall waves due to weather disturbances brought by the southwest monsoon, also known as habagat.
Nevertheless, Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, said the number of Chinese vessels and warships in the country’s western EEZ is expected to have a drastic decrease.
There were 49 CCG ships and People’s Liberation Army (LPA) Navy warships monitored in the West Philippine Sea for June, the highest so far recorded this year, according to Trinidad.
“But historically, because of weather disturbances, these numbers drastically drop … they also seek shelter in the areas not affected by the weather,” Trinidad said on Tuesday.
