As China flaunts its military might, PH is weighing all options

MANILA, Philippines. Almost 143 kilometers off the coast of Zambales, China’s “monster ship” came so close to Philippine land that the government had to make its position clear: “We do not waver or flinch in the face of intimidation.”

Jonathan Malaya, assistant director general of the National Security Council, said “we are not abandoning these intimidation tactics and will not dignify them,” stressing that China is “pushing the Philippines against the wall.”

The 12,000-ton Chinese Coast Guard Ship (CCG) 5901, which is 165 meters long, is China’s monster ship and the world’s largest, which was spotted off Capones Island on January 4 and replaced by CCG 3103.

READ: PCG: As the “monster” sails away, another Chinese ship approaches the coast of Zambales

However, as the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) BRP Teresa Magbanua “gradually pushed it away,” the “monster ship” returned on January 11 to “out maneuver” the PCG vessel, which is only 97 meters long.

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READ: Chinese Coast Guard Ship “Monster” returned to WPS

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The presence of CCG 5901 in the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) has prompted the government to indicate that it is now “thinking about things it didn’t think about before.”

“All options are being considered,” said Malaya, who stressed that the proximity of CCG 5901 is contributing to the escalation of tensions between the Philippines and China over areas in the South China Sea.

RELATED STORY: China’s “monster ship” continues to ignore PH’s call to leave WPS

Renato de Castro, a professor of international studies at De La Salle University, said the Philippines should protest the presence of the monster ship in the West Philippine Sea.

But while that won’t be enough to stop China, he told INQUIRER.net that filing a diplomatic protest would express the Philippines’ strong opposition to China’s intimidation.

“It’s not enough, but it’s really necessary,” he said. “It’s an indicator that we don’t accept a situation that we couldn’t control, but nevertheless, we don’t want that situation.”

Since the start of the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in July 2022, the government has already filed about 200 diplomatic protests against China’s aggression inside the Philippine EEZ.

Terrible PH

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin noted that the presence of the Chinese monster ship could be a case of power projection, saying Malacañang “views it with concern.”

READ: West Sea PH: Chinese ‘monster ship’ off Zambales raises serious concern – Palace

In 2023, CCG 5901 was also spotted off the coast of Sarawak state in Malaysian Borneo, close to the Kasavari gas development project, based on satellite imagery and AIS data from the Asian Maritime Transparency Initiative.

This prompted a response from the Royal Malaysian Navy.

De Castro told radio station dzBB that China is indeed making it seem like they can conduct “intrusive patrols” and that the Philippines is helpless even though the CCG vessels are already in the country’s EEZ.

READ: The “monster” of the Chinese coast guard has returned to Panatag

SeaLight’s Gaute Fries, a defense innovation scientist at Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center, said the intrusive patrols would describe the presence of CCG vessels “in other states’ EEZs.”

“These patrols are a key component of China’s strategy to strengthen its expansive maritime claims in disputed waters (as it) seeks to establish a permanent presence and gradual normalization of its maritime activities in these areas,” he said.

Last year, CCG 5901 was also spotted near Ayungin, or Second Thomas Shoal, where the Philippines docked its warship BRP Sierra Madre to serve as an outpost in the West Philippine Sea.

Supporting the PH protests

Now, since diplomatic protests will not be enough to truly stop China’s aggression, De Castro said “we must rely on our alliance(s)” given the Philippines’ inadequate naval capabilities.

According to the World Catalog of Modern Warships, the Philippine Navy has a TvR of only 33.7 in the 2025 Global Navy Ranking, which takes into account values ​​related to the total combat power of the world’s navies.

TvR, or “TrueValueRating,” looks at modernization, logistics, offense, and defense to assess strength not just based on the number of warships and submarines, but rather the “quality and overall composition of the inventory.”

China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy has a TvR of 319.8, while the United States Navy, still considered the most powerful in the world, has a TvR of 323.9, even though China has over 400 warships, compared to the United States’ 243.

However, Philippine Navy spokesman Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said last year that “with what is happening now, not only in the maritime domain but also in the air space, we are making do with what we have.”

READ: PH’s defense resources are sufficient amid China’s pursuit of WPS – Navy spox

He said that even with the current capabilities of the Philippine Air Force, Philippine Navy and Philippine Army, “we can do well with what we have, and given more, they can do even better.”

“Tough” executive decision

But the use of force is a “difficult executive decision” that Marcos will have to make if China’s aggression continues and escalates in the West Philippine Sea.

It is, as De Castro pointed out, that the possible use of force will bring the Philippines into a “realm of uncertainty” — will China hold back or will the Philippines simply find itself caught in the middle?

“It will also depend on whether it is in the interests of our allies to really support us,” he said, stressing that once the United States or Japan help the Philippines, China will indeed respond.

He explained that “China cannot afford to lose strength if it is opposed by the United States and Japan, and as soon as we do that, as soon as we put them in a situation where they are facing each other, we lose control of the situation.”

“Either we will be in the middle, or our allies will simply abandon us. Therefore, this is an executive decision. The president must take a calculated risk,” De Castro said, though he stressed that the United States must “act more decisively.”

He said: “That’s why you have to interpret or look at the Mutual Defense Treaty not in terms of its legal position, but in terms of the political context when you have to make that decision.”