A Chinese language coast guard ship and a Vietnamese fisheries patrol boat apparently had a tense encounter in the course of the weekend within the South China Sea, coming as shut as 10 meters to one another, based on knowledge from Marine Visitors, a ship-tracking web site.
The information, primarily based on the ships’ computerized identification system (AIS) alerts, reveals that the China Coast Guard ship, CCG5205, and Vietnam’s Kiem Ngu 278 got here “loopy shut” to at least one one other at round 7 a.m. on Sunday native time (midnight UTC), mentioned a researcher primarily based in California.
As of Monday afternoon (native time), the CCG5205 was working in Malaysia’s unique financial zone after it left Vietnam waters the place the Kiem Ngu 278 had been pursuing the significantly bigger Chinese language ship since March 24, monitoring knowledge confirmed.
At one level the 2 ships have been lower than 10 meters (32.8 ft) aside, based on Ray Powell, the Challenge Myoushu (South China Sea) lead at Stanford College, who first noticed the incident at sea.
“The Vietnamese ship was fairly daring given the distinction in measurement – the Chinese language ship is twice the dimensions of the Vietnamese ship,” Powell mentioned.
“It will need to have been a really tense engagement.”
The incident occurred some 50 nautical miles (92.6 kilometers) south of Vanguard Financial institution, a recognized South China Sea flashpoint between Vietnam and China.
About 90 minutes later, the Chinese language ship left Vietnam’s unique financial zone (EEZ) the place it had been since Friday night.
An EEZ offers a state unique entry to the pure assets within the waters and within the seabed.
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Final month, the identical China Coast Guard ship was accused of approaching about 150 yards (137 meters) from a Philippine Coast Guard ship and pointing a laser on the crew, inflicting short-term blindness to them.
On Feb. 6, the Philippine Coast Guard mentioned that the Chinese language ship had “directed a military-grade laser gentle” twice on the BRP Malapascua, which was on its approach to ship meals and provides to the troops stationed on the Second Thomas Shoal within the South China Sea.
Manila lodged a diplomatic protest and the U.S. State Division issued a press release supporting “our Philippine allies.”
Beijing rejected the allegation, saying the Philippine ship had “intruded into the waters” off the Spratly Islands “with out Chinese language permission” and the Chinese language coast guard ship had “acted in knowledgeable and restrained approach.”
‘Too shut for consolation’
Within the Sunday encounter, Marine Visitors’s previous monitor confirmed the Chinese language CCG5205 and the Vietnamese Kiem Ngu 278 have been so shut that they may have collided.
“Ten meters between ships is actually too shut for consolation,” mentioned Collin Koh, a Singapore-based regional maritime analyst.
“Relying on the ocean state, the danger of collision is pretty excessive,” Koh instructed Radio Free Asia (RFA).
A retired Vietnamese Navy senior officer, who spoke to RFA on situation of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject, mentioned the 2 ships will need to have narrowly escaped a collision as a result of they have been crusing in reverse instructions and at a really sluggish pace.
“In the event that they have been heading to the identical path a collision would haven’t been avoidable as the gap is simply too shut and too harmful,” he mentioned.
Chinese language ships had intentionally rammed Vietnamese patrol ships previously, he added, however not in recent times.
The CCG5205 left Sanya, in Hainan island, for the present mission on March 11 and entered Vietnam’s EEZ the primary time on March 12.
It then moved to the overlapping space between claimant states within the South China Sea and Malaysia’s EEZ earlier than getting into Vietnam’s EEZ once more on March 21 for a pair hours and for the third time on March 24 when the Kiem Ngu 278 chased it.
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The Kiem Ngu 278, formally named Vietnamese Fisheries Assets Surveillance ship KN-278, is homeported in Vung Tau, south of Ho Chi Minh Metropolis.
It left base on March 13 and had been following the Chinese language vessel intently since.
In July 2021, the Kiem Ngu 278 was following one other Chinese language coast guard ship, the CCG5202, which Vietnam accused of harassing its gas-exploration actions.
Six events maintain claims to elements of the South China Sea and its pure assets however China’s declare is the largest and Beijing has been attempting to hinder different international locations’ oil and fuel actions within the waters inside its self-claimed nine-dash line.
A 2,600-ton Chinese language survey vessel, the Haiyang Dizhi Si Hao, had lingered inside Vietnam’s EEZ from March 9 till March 25, when it switched off its AIS, based on knowledge from Marine Visitors.
Its whereabouts are at present unknown.