China has parked the world’s largest coast guard ship in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea in a move believed to be aimed at intimidating its neighbours.
The 165-metre long “monster ship” arrived in the area on July 3 but has not responded to repeated radio protests from the Philippine Coast Guard as to its purpose.
But China claims sovereignty over the area and is “conducting maritime law enforcement activities,” Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriera said.
The massive Chinese ship also sent out smaller boats, which anchored just half a mile from the Philippine Coast Guard vessel.
In May, the Philippine Coast Guard sent vessels to Sabina Reef in the South China Sea to disrupt small-scale Chinese reclamation.
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For more than a decade, Beijing has carried out large-scale land reclamation on islands in the South China Sea, building runways and other military facilities.
China largely denies such actions, claiming all international waters as its territory and defying a 2016 ruling by an international tribunal in The Hague that found China’s maritime claims have no basis in international law.
Tensions have risen between China and the Philippines due to Beijing’s assertive claims in the disputed waterway.
The South China Sea is a strategic waterway through which millions of dollars of international trade pass every year.
Coast guards and fishing boats of other Southeast Asian countries, such as Vietnam, have also faced harassment by China’s coast guard and navy.
Governments and experts in the region have long worried that China’s maritime claims could spark war.
