China Coast Guard ship sighted near Manila Bay

A China Coast Guard (CCG) ship with bow No. 3301 was spotted “cruising” near Manila Bay on Thursday, US maritime expert Ray Powell said. The CCG ship was spotted 95 nautical miles from the mouth of Manila Bay at 7:21 a.m., according to Powell, who is director of Sea Light, a program of Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation that tracks Chinese activities in the West Philippine Sea (WPS). At 2:42 p.m., the 98-meter ship was seen “turning toward Scarborough Shoal.”

“China’s intrusive patrol continues with China Coast Guard 3301 cruising outside Manila Bay this morning,” Powell, director of SeaLight and a former US Air Force official, said in a post on X yesterday.

He reported that another CCG ship, with bow number 3105, has been “AIS-dark since 22 July.” AIS refers to the automatic identification system that large ships are required to activate for safety and security purposes.

Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Commodore Jay Tarriela confirmed the presence of the two CCG vessels in the area. Powell’s X post was an update of his previous post last July 22 wherein he revealed the presence of CCG vessels also “on an intrusive patrol” some 40 nautical miles from El Nido in Palawan.