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China unleashes ‘Kraken’ on world as it anchors ‘The Monster’ ship in Philippine waters

China’s “game of chicken” in the South China Sea hasn’t been going so well. So it has unleashed its Krakens.

Jamie SeidelJamie Seidel
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July 8, 2024 - 9:33PM
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China’s “game of chicken” in the South China Sea hasn’t been going so well.

So it’s unleashed its Krakens.

The 12,000-ton China Coast Guard ship, widely nicknamed ‘The Monster’, has arrived in the Spratly Islands and dropped anchor alongside a Philippines cutter at Sabina Shoal.

It’s the largest coast guard vessel in the world.

But its arrival comes just weeks after Beijing deployed a new legal ‘Kraken’, a vague but powerful set of laws ignoring the territorial definitions laid out by the International Convention on the Law of the Sea.

This enables China’s coast guard to seize “foreigners and foreign ships” in any waters it deems to be its own.

Together, this represents a dramatic escalation in Beijing’s internationally rejected move to lay claim over almost the entirety of the South China Sea.

China Coast Guard ship 5901, widely nicknamed “The Monster”. Picture: Philippines Coast Guard
China Coast Guard ship 5901, widely nicknamed “The Monster”. Picture: Philippines Coast Guard

“PRC assertiveness in the SCS has been on a constant upward trend for decades, but the current flashpoint with the Philippines is the most serious moment in the last decade,” says Jamestown Foundation think-tank analyst Arran Hope.

China’s diplomatic stance towards its neighbours was defined in 2010 when then Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi addressed the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) Regional Forum.

“China is a big country and other countries are small countries and that is just a fact,” he warned.

And “The Monster” is the ultimate expression of this bullying attitude.

But Manila appears determined not to surrender.

“We must unite behind our President (Marcos) offering support for his unwavering commitment to never surrender even an inch of our territory to any foreign power,” PCG spokesman Commodore Jay Tarriela tweeted this morning.

“To do otherwise would render the sacrifices of our national heroes all in vain.”

Island rift

“We’re not going to pull out, and we’re not going to be intimidated,” Commodore Tarriela told local media over the weekend.

He said that China’s 165m-long Zhaotou-class coast guard ship had taken up position about 450m off one of its own vessels, the BRP Teresa Magbanua.

At 97m long, it is the largest vessel in the PCG fleet.

The BRP Teresa Magbanua has been stationed in the region since April 16 as a response to Chinese water-cannon attacks on fishing and civilian boats, and suspected Chinese moves to begin construction of yet another artificial island there.

The Zhaotou-class patrol cutter does not appear to have a name beyond its official designation – CCG 5901. But it’s one of several of its class to join the Chinese Coast Guard since 2015.

The type has been dubbed “monster” because of its excessive size for its claimed civilian policing role. It’s also unusually heavily armed, with 75mm rapid-fire cannons, two 30mm cannons, two machine guns, and a helipad and hangar capable of operating China’s largest naval helicopters.

“Unlike actual surface naval combat, in hostile encounters between coast guards, the size of the ship plays a large role, particularly in the South China Sea, which has seen numerous instances of ‘ramming contests’ with two vessels often engaging in games of chicken trying to scare the other vessel off,” International Institute for Strategic Studies analyst Franz-Stefan Gady wrote in 2017.

Commodore Tarriela said that the BRP Teresa Magbanua had been repeatedly radioing the CCG-5901, informing it that it was within the UN-confirmed 370km Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Philippines, that it had the right of free passage, but not to enforce Chinese law inside Philippine jurisdiction.

He said the CCG-5901 had “directly encroached” the Philippines EEZ on July 1 before joining a Chinese naval vessel, two further CCG cutters and several fishing militia boats already at Sabina Shoal.

Sabina is an important rallying point for the Philippines Coast Guard, naval and commercial vessels seeking to resupply the blockaded BRP Sierra Madre – the hulk of an old World War II assault ship grounded at nearby Second Thomas Shoal as an assertion of ownership.

“With the clear guidance of our President and the intention of the commandant of the Philippine Coast Guard to maintain our presence in Escoda (Sabina) Shoal. We’re not going to pull out, and we’re not going to be intimidated,” Commodore Tarriela said.

“It is not our burden to de-escalate because we are always only on the receiving end of the escalatory action of the China Coast Guard. We are just maintaining our presence. We are not provoking anybody. We are just carrying out our patriotic duty of maintaining our presence in the West Philippine Sea.”

The ‘Kraken’: CCG Order #3

Beijing’s new South China Sea legal ‘Kraken’ is designed to give the aggressive operations of its coast guard an air of legitimacy, analysts say.

National Security College academic and former Royal Australian Navy officer Peter Levy says the law “uses vague and uncertain language” to “allow for the use of force”.

He writes in the Maritime Executive trade magazine that the Chinese legislation deliberately avoids terms defined under UNCLOS, such as “Territorial Sea” or “Exclusive Economic Zone”.

“Why is this important?” Levy writes. “CCG Order #3 entered force on 15 June 2024 and authorizes coast guard commanders to detain foreign vessels and persons in “waters under Chinese jurisdiction” for up to 30 days and 60 days if the issue is “complicated”.

“In essence, this will allow the China Coast Guard to detain vessels on what the rest of the world views as high seas and in the EEZs of foreign countries where, under the UN convention, they enjoy high seas freedoms of navigation and overflight.

“Importantly, it also does not distinguish between state-owned and commercial vessels, leaving the option open for foreign coast guards or even naval vessels to be detained under the regulation.”

Hope adds the law “formalises the increasingly assertive actions taken by Chinese forces”. It also allows Beijing to implement temporary maritime “warning zones” for “military use of the sea”.

CCG Order #3 appears to be a response to Manila having dug in its heels in the face of Beijing’s intimidation.

It knows the cost of backing down.

The Philippines lost control of the Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal in the northern South China Sea to China in 2012. A two-month standoff between the coast guards and navies of the two nations ended with China occupying the remote reef and refusing to allow Philippine vessels back into its waters, just 220km off the Philippine home island of Luzon.

That’s well within the 370km Philippines UNCLOS-defined EEZ boundary.

So Beijing now needs to ramp up the pressure even further.

“CCG Order #3 is just another example of China’s attempts to exploit ambiguity whereby all aspects of national power – in the maritime sense, its navy, coast guard, People’s Armed Forces Maritime Militia, fishing fleets and merchant marine – are co-ordinated in the pursuit of military objectives,” Levy warns.

Coral flashpoint

“Despite this flurry of aggressive activity from the PRC side, questions remain about its objectives,” says Hope. “The timing of this phase of escalation, and whether or not any recent or perhaps imminent behaviour might fall under the definition of an “armed attack” under Article V of the US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty”.

In recent months, its intimidation tactics against the Philippines have taken a decidedly hostile turn.

At the heart of the matter is ownership of a scattering of remote sandbanks and coral reefs situated some 333km off the Philippine home islands and 1188km from China.

The flashpoint is the BRP Sierra Madre, which the Philippines beached on the Second Thomas Shoal in 1999 as a sign of its commitment to defending its maritime territories.

The growing crisis reached a new high last month when CCG personnel armed with tear gas, knives, axes, and poles boarded three small Philippine naval boats attempting to resupply the hulk.

Several Filipino soldiers were hurt, and one lost a finger in the resulting clash. Manila has also accused the Chinese enforcers of smashing radio and navigational equipment and stealing firearms.

Beijing has responded by calling the CCG action “professional, lawful” and “beyond reproach”.

The attack came just days after China passed its aggressive new CCG Order #3 laws.

A CCG spokesman accused the Philippines of transporting “a large amount of supplies and even suspected construction materials suggest that the Philippines intends to eventually establish a permanent facility” on Sabina Shoal.

It accused Manila of planning to beach the modern BRP Teresa Magbanua in the same fashion it had the BRP Sierra Madre.

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Commodore Tarriela rejected the accusation, saying it was the PCG’s flagship and “most expensive Coast Guard vessel that we have on our own inventory.”

Again, this is a vessel that patrols Escoda (Sabina) Shoal and the immediate vicinity of Escoda Shoal,” he added.

“So, regardless of whatever comments that the Chinese are saying, whether they are implicating that this will just be another Sierra Madre or this is a way for us to violate anything as they claim, I think we don’t have to listen to them.”

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/military/china-unleashes-kraken-on-world-as-it-anchors-the-monster-ship-in-philippine-waters/news-story/668e4012e7e57671989a19f597bc3836