CHINA is slowly getting closer as a maritime transparency project group reported sighting a Chinese Coast Guard vessel sailing past an island 40 kilometers west of Calatagan, Batangas.
According to maritime group SeaLight, a 135-meter long CCG vessel with a marking which reads 5303 arrived 60 nautical miles west of Lubang Island at around 4:20 in the afternoon last Sunday.
Retired United States Air Force Col. Ray Powell in his capacity as director of SeaLight, described the presence of the CCG vessel as an intrusive patrol.
Powell said that intrusive patrolling is a key component of “China’s strategy to reinforce its expansive maritime claims in disputed waters.”
“By doing so, China aims to establish a continuous presence and gradually normalize its maritime activities in these areas,” he quipped. (ANGEL F. JOSE)
