Is called CCG 5901 and is the largest ship available Chinese Coast Guard. It is no coincidence that she was nicknamed “The Monster” and that is “the monster“, due to its gigantic dimensions. The ship in question has a tonnage of 12,000 tonsis now found in the waters near Vanguard Bank South China Sea, near a place where Vietnam controls important oil and gas reserves. In other words, China has sent its giant into an area that is as critical as it is rich in energy resources and therefore faces bitter maritime claims between the two sides. The Marine Traffic website tracked the Chinese ship as it conducted “intrusive patrols between Vietnam's offshore oil and gas fields,” followed by the Vietnamese surveillance ship Kiem Ngu 261.
The recent tensions between China and Vietnam
CCG 5901, previously hull number 3901, departed the port of Sanya on Hainan Island on February 14, 2024. As stated on the RFA website, the vessel in question patrolled the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) until the end of 2023. from Vietnam for almost a month, only to be replaced on January 10 by another Chinese Coast Guard vessel, CCG 5402. The latter, for the record, has also been conducting intrusive patrols in the EEZs of Indonesia and Malaysia over the past six weeks.
“This Patrols “are an important part of China's strategy to strengthen its extensive maritime claims in disputed waters,” wrote Gaute Friis, a SeaLight project analyst at Stanford University in California. “With this, China wants to establish a presence and continue to gradually normalize its maritime activities in these areas,” the expert added. The Chinese “monster” ship is armed heavy machine guns and also has one Helicopter platformas well as a Hall large enough to accommodate larger rotorcraft.
For its part, the Foreign Ministry in Hanoi said Vietnam firmly rejects any violation of its sovereignty Vanguard Bank. “Vanguard Bank is part of Vietnam’s continental shelf and was built in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS),” the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said. Pham Thu Hangin a meeting with the press.
The maritime space in the field of tension
Remember that Vanguard Bank, called Bai Tu Chinh in Vietnamese and Wan'an Tan in Chinese, is a sunken structure located entirely within Vietnam's exclusive economic zone. Hanoi and some foreign partners are conducting exploration petrolium And gas in the area, which plays an important role in Vietnamese oil and gas production. Recall that in July 2019, Vietnamese and Chinese ships faced off in one of the worst maritime conflicts in the South China Sea in recent years.
“Vietnam rejects any actions that violate its sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction over Vietnamese waters in accordance with international law, in particular UNCLOS,” Hang said, adding that Vietnam protects and will protect its legitimate interests in the seas through peaceful methods . according to the International right.
The Philippines and Vietnam have now signed agreement End of January 2024, to prevent accidents in the South China Sea and expand cooperation between their coast guards. The agreements and discussions on improving information and training exchanges between the Philippine and Vietnamese militaries were made during the Philippine President's visit Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Hanoi.