The West Philippine Sea saw the presence of the world’s largest coast guard cutter belonging to China for the first time in nearly a year. The China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel with hull number 5901 is 165 meters long and 22 meters wide—roughly one and a half times the length of a standard football field—and weighs about 12,000 tons. Maritime monitor SeaLight said the CCG ship, better known as the “monster ship,” passed around 40 nautical miles off Itbayat town, Batanes, on Sunday.

Mendoza, J. E. (2026, January 29). West PH Sea sees return of Chinese 'monster ship' after almost a year. Panay News, pp. 9, 15.