Chinese Ships Detected Near Coast of US Ally

China’s coast guard has been occupying waters off the coast of the Philippines’ largest islands, carrying out patrols that could further inflame territorial Beijing-Manila tensions.

Newsweek has reached out to the Philippine coast guard and Chinese foreign ministry via email for comment outside of office hours.

Why It Matters

Beijing claims jurisdiction over most of the South China Sea, alleging historical rights. It regularly deploys its coast guard in what analysts have called a bid to normalize China’s presence in neighboring countries’ maritime zones.

The Philippines has mounted the stiffest pushback, with confrontations between the two countries’ coast guards raising concerns a misunderstanding could trigger Manila’s Mutual Defense Treaty with Washington and spark a greater power conflict.

What To Know

A Chinese coast guard cutter with hull number 3304 was observed just 50 nautical miles (57.5 miles) off the west coast of Luzon on Wednesday morning, according to ship-tracking data shared on X by Ray Powell, director of the Stanford University-affiliated maritime analysis group SeaLight.

Meanwhile, a second vessel, China Coast Guard 5306, was spotted near Half Moon Shoal, roughly 50 nautical miles from Palawan, the country’s westernmost major island.

Both ships were more than 900 miles from China’s southernmost province of Hainan and within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, an area extending 200 nautical miles from territorial waters in which the Philippines alone is entitled to explore and manage natural resources under international maritime law.

Powell contrasted what he described as the “intrusive” Chinese patrols with the activities of their Philippine counterparts, who were engaged in relief efforts as tropical storm Francisco brought mudflows and flooding to Luzon, including parts of Manila, forcing tens of thousands to evacuate.

Since taking office in 2022, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has stepped up the country’s challenge to Chinese activities within the exclusive economic zone, including efforts to run Chinese blockades around hotspots like the Spratly Islands’ Second Thomas Shoal, where the Philippines maintains a small military garrison aboard a grounded former warship.

While tensions have eased somewhat on the matter of Second Thomas Shoal since a fierce clash in June 2024 that resulted in several Philippine injuries, Chinese coast guard ships have been observed sailing further east—though rarely as close as the recent approach by cutter 3304.

China has called on the Philippines to return to bilateral dialogue and accused Manila of acting as a pawn in U.S. efforts to contain its rise.

July 12 marked the ninth anniversary of a Hague-based arbitral tribunal’s decision that largely rejected China’s expansive claims over the South China Sea. Beijing did not participate in the proceedings and maintains the ruling is invalid and politically motivated.

What’s Next

China is likely to continue deploying maritime forces into the Philippine EEZ, but it remains to be seen where Manila will draw the line and what will be the threshold for further escalation.