The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has again confronted China’s “monster ship,” or vessel 5901, off the coast of Zambales.

Late Friday, PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela said the BRP Gabriela Silang issued a radio challenge to the China Coast Guard (CCG) ship that was operating illegally 60 to 70 nautical miles within the country’s exclusive economic zone.

“Despite multiple radio communications from the Gabriela Silang, the Chinese vessel continued with its illegal operations,” he said.

The Philippines has monitored CCG vessels in the area the past two weeks, The monster ship was earlier detected near the coast of Zambales before it was replaced by another CCG ship.

On Monday, the BRP Teresa Magbanua successfully blocked a Chinese vessel from entering the waters of Zambales. This prompted the CCG to again deploy the monster ship.

On Tuesday, the Philippine government called on China to withdraw its ship from Philippine waters, saying it was an “alarming” presence.

The Department of Foreign Affairs has filed a diplomatic protest against the deployment of the “monster ship” in Philippine waters. Despite these diplomatic measures, China remains unfazed.

US Secretary of State-nominee Marco Rubio has warned China to “stop messing around” with the Philippines and Taiwan as this is forcing the United States to “focus our attention in ways we prefer not to.”

Rubio stressed that China’s actions are “destabilizing” the region and forcing the US to take counter-actions.

“The actions they are taking now are deeply destabilizing. They are forcing us to take counter-actions because we have commitments to the Philippines and we have commitments to Taiwan that we intend to keep,” he said.