đź“·Ray Powell
CHINA has taken a bolder move as it steps closer to the Philippine capital via the entry point of the Manila Bay, says US maritime expert Ray Powell.
Powell in his capacity as director of SeaLight, a program of Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, particularly claimed to have sighted the Chinese Coast Guard ship with bow No. 3301 “cruising” 95 nautical miles from the mouth of Manila Bay at 7:21 a.m on Thursday.
At around 2:42 p.m., Powell said that the 98-meter ship was seen “turning toward Scarborough Shoal.”
Since tension escalated between China and the Philippines SeaLight has been tracking Chinese activities in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
From Manila’s corridor, the same ship was spotted on the same day 62.08 nautical miles west of Capones Island in Zambales, according to Commodore Jay Tariela in his capacity as Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea.
On July 21, that very same CCG ship was seen headed toward the coastal town of El Nido in Palawan. Two days later, the CCG ship moved to the northeast of Recto Bank and stayed there for more than a day before it was spotted near Zambales.
Another CCG vessel with bow No. 3105, he added, was seen anchored 64.5 nautical miles away from Tapiutan Island in El Nido, Palawan.
On Wednesday, PCG Commandant Adm. Ronnie Gil Gavan told reporters that China’s “monster ship,” a 165-m CCG vessel, has yet to move away from the Escoda (Sabina) Shoal in the WPS, maintaining a close distance to BRP Teresa Magbanua.
The Chinese vessel has been in the area since July 3. (ANGEL F. JOSE)
