South China Sea: giant ship sent near disputed shoals to show ability to ‘outlast Manila’

10,700-tonne civilian ship Haixun 09 spotted near Spratlys, days after Chinese coastguard deploys world’s largest cutter in contested region

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Chinese coastguard vessels fire water cannons towards a Philippine resupply vessel en route to the Second Thomas Shoal, in one of a string of recent confrontations in the South China Sea. Photo: Reuters

Published: 6:09pm, 12 Jul 2024Updated: 2:28am, 13 Jul 2024

China’s most advanced civilian patrol vessel was spotted in the South China Sea and appeared at one time to be headed towards reefs also claimed by the Philippines, open source data showed.

According to global shipping trackers MarineTraffic, the Haixun 09 was patrolling in waters east of Vietnam earlier this week before it turned to sail towards the Philippine west coast – close to the disputed Spratly Islands, claimed by China as the Nansha Islands.

But on Friday, the 10,700-tonne vessel was detected as sailing north, potentially back to home shores, following a U-turn away from the disputed area.

A maritime observer read the move as Beijing’s latest effort to showcase its ability to “outlast Manila” in the contested South China Sea after deploying the world’s largest coastguard vessel there earlier this month.

However, he said neither side was expected to provoke further conflict after a string of confrontations over the past year.

On Thursday, the Haixun 09 was spotted nearest to the western Philippine island of Palawan, and apparently closing in on the Spratlys – which include the Second Thomas Shoal, known as Renai Jiao in China, and the Sabina Shoal.