More dangerous maneuvers by China vessels

MANILA, Philippines — Another case of “dangerous maneuvers” by a China Coast Guard (CCG) ship was reported off Palawan on Wednesday, targeting two patrol vessels of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

In a post on X, former US Air Force official and defense attaché Ray Powell said a CCG vessel with bow number 5203 “appeared to carry out several aggressive and unsafe maneuvers” against PCG patrol vessels BRP Malabrigo and BRP Malapascua last Oct. 16.

Powell heads SeaLight, which tracks the movement of ships in the South China Sea.       

The two 44-meter PCG ships just “left port” from the southernmost tip of Palawan “and went northwest” before the incident.

“They were met ~50 kilometers south of Sabina Shoal and followed very closely by (CCG 5203), which appeared to carry out several aggressive and unsafe maneuvers against both ships,” he said, referring to Escoda Shoal by its international name.

Escoda Shoal is within the 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone of the Philippines.

He added the bows of the vessels crossed at times and “came within ~15 meters.”

“China has deployed two groups of maritime ships to patrol features just 40-50 nautical miles from the Philippines’ island of Palawan,” he said in another post yesterday.

“Four are near Bombay Shoal, while six more are near Northeast Investigator and Royal Captain Shoals,” he added. They are all near Escoda Shoal.

“China’s research ship Haiyang Dizhi Liu Hao’s survey activity with 65 nautical miles of the Philippines’ main island of Luzon still in progress since Oct. 7, 2024,” he said.

The PCG has yet to confirm Powell’s report.

Around a month ago, PCG’s 97-meter patrol vessel BRP Teresa Magbanua was pulled out from its five-month deployment in Escoda Shoal after being rammed and damaged by a CCG ship.