Three China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels have been observed conducting simultaneous patrols on both the eastern and western flanks of Batanes, raising fresh concerns over Beijing’s expanding maritime presence in waters near the Philippines.
Ray Powell, director of SeaLight and a key maritime monitor from Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center, confirmed that CCG vessel 4304 was seen about 60 nautical miles west of Batanes on Friday. Meanwhile, ships 3301 and 3304 were detected roughly 70 nautical miles off the province’s eastern side.
“Yes, bracketing in the sense that they are patrolling both east and west sides of Batanes,” Powell told the Inquirer, describing the positioning of the ships as a “bracketing pattern”—a term used when forces are stationed on opposing sides of a target area.
What makes the move more alarming is the rare appearance of Chinese vessels on the Philippine archipelago’s eastern seaboard.
“I think this is really significant, as I’ve never seen CCG conduct an intrusive patrol [on] the east side of the Philippine archipelago before,” Powell said.
The ships were reportedly tracked passing through the Bashi Channel, a critical maritime corridor between Taiwan and the northernmost island of the Philippines. Powell described the route as “very unusual” and pointed out that this was the first time he had observed CCG vessels in that area in years of monitoring.
“I almost never see the CCG near Batanes, and this is the first time I’ve seen any pass through the Bashi Channel,” he added.
The Bashi Channel connects the South China Sea with the Pacific Ocean and has long been considered a strategic chokepoint. In the past, Chinese research ships—not necessarily under the CCG—have been seen near the eastern Philippine Rise, but not in this kind of pattern.
The Philippine military and coast guard have yet to issue a formal statement on the incident.
