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CCG ‘monster ship’ driven away anew by PCG

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) once again drove away the so-called monster ship of the China Coast Guard (CCG) that was caught sailing closer to the shores of Zambales province.

The PCG’s 97-meter patrol ship BRP Teresa Magbanua “initially spotted” the 165-meter CCG 5901 “54 nautical miles from shore” of Zambales last Feb. 2, according to a statement from Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG’s spokesman on West Philippine Sea issues.

The PCG vessel “pushed back” CCG 5901, said to be the world’s largest coast guard ship, “to approximately 120 nautical miles,” he noted.

Despite being driven away, the CCG maintained it was “performing law enforcement duties on the jurisdictional waters of the People’s Republic of China in accordance with law,” said a radio announcement in both English and Chinese heard inside the Teresa Magbanua.

It added: “The Arbitral Award for the South China Sea arbitration is illegal and invalid, that China neither accepts nor legitimizes.”

The radio announcement from CCG 5901 went on, “China firmly upholds its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea, and (advocates) to manage maritime differences through dialog and cooperation.”

It also called on BRP Teresa Magbanua to preserve “peace and stability in the South China Sea and maintain mutual trust and cooperation between our countries with concrete actions.”

Through a female PCG officer onboard the patrol ship, Teresa Magbanua replied to the radio challenge of CCG 5901 by saying it was “sailing within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), approximately 117 nautical miles northwest of Capones Point in Zambales, Philippines.”

“You do not possess any legal authority to patrol within the Philippines’ (EEZ),” she added, pursuant to Republic Act 12064 or the Maritime Zones Act, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and the 2016 Arbitral Award.

The landmark ruling upheld the Philippines’ sovereign rights over the West Philippine Sea covered by its 200-nautical mile EEZ, at the same time junked China’s claim over the entire South China Sea.

“While CCG-5901 has expressed intentions to promote peace and stability through

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