Large Chinese ship leaving Bajo de Masinloc - PCG

Metro Manila, Philippines - A large Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) ship is leaving an atoll within the exclusive economic zone west of the country after staying for more than a month, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Friday, Feb. 14.

Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, said CCG vessel 5901 was monitored moving southward from Bajo de Masinloc.

“This is our first time to see China Coast Guard monster ship not just loitering within Bajo de Masinloc and then all of a sudden, it is moving downwards,” Tarriela said in a press briefing.

Tarriela said based on the past voyage tracks of the ship, it will move towards the exclusive economic zone of other nations along the South China Sea before returning to China.

The PCG has been monitoring three other CCG vessels in Bajo de Masinloc.

Meanwhile, the Chinese research vessel seen off Pangasinan is now in waters off Taiwan, Tarriela said.

China has been encroaching in Philippine waters despite a 2016 arbitral decision that declared Manila’s rights in the West Philippine Sea and invalidated Beijing’s sweeping claim in the South China Sea.