3780
Views

China Sends Largest Cutter on "Law Enforcement" Patrol Off Luzon

CCG 5901
CCG 5901 off Luzon, Jan. 5 (PCG)

Published Jan 5, 2025 11:57 PM by The Maritime Executive


The Philippine Coast Guard is engaged in a slow-motion standoff with the world's largest coast guard cutter, CCG 5901, which has been loitering off the coast of Luzon and broadcasting a legal mandate to patrol "Chinese" waters.  

CCG 5901 is a symbol of the China Coast Guard's "gray zone" campaign in the western Philippine exclusive economic zone. At 12,000 tonnes displacement and 540 feet long, it is as large as a cruiser, with range, endurance and an intimidating appearance to match. Last year, it anchored off Sabina Shoal in the Spratly Islands and stayed for months, outlasting the patrol ship that Manila dispatched to monitor it. 

The "monster ship," as it is known in Philippine media, is a familiar sight in the region - but its latest patrol is out of character. Shortly after the new year, CCG 5901 changed course and sailed to within 50 nautical miles of Luzon, home to the Philippines' capital city. 

The Philippine Coast Guard dispatched a fixed-wing aircraft and a patrol vessel, the BRP Cabra, to track the CCG 5901 and to challenge its activities. The Cabra's crew made contact to push back on the China Coast Guard, but received a troubling response: the CCG 5901 asserted that "it is conducting law enforcement duties within what it considers the jurisdictional waters of the People’s Republic of China," 600 miles southeast of the Chinese mainland. 

Video courtesy PCG

"The PCG will continue to take deliberate and appropriately measured actions to challenge the illegal presence of the Chinese Coast Guard until it ceases its violations of the Philippines’ sovereign rights in these waters," said PCG spokesman Jay Tarriela in a statement. 

China claims the vast majority of the South China Sea as its own, citing historical patterns of Chinese trade and maritime activity in the region. In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague ruled against China's claims and found that they had no basis in international law. China has ignored the ruling and continues to assert sovereignty over the region, including parts of the exclusive economic zones of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and Taiwan. 

Many Philippine defense commentators are concerned at China's muscular new approach in Philippine waters, including more aggressive PLA naval and coast guard patrols near Scarborough Shoal. "Since the beginning of the year, we have been shown: 'Don't challenge us, don't pick on us because we can match you,' in fact crush you. It's a real show of force," Prof. Renato de Castro of De La Salle University told ABS CBN.