Just 90 meters away from direct collision! Intense confrontation occurred east of Zhongye Island! The Philippine Marine Landing Ship was preparing to dock and unload supplies when it encountered an embarrassing situation in the next moment!
On May 18th local time, according to the documentary "Philippine Maritime Defenders" (PH DEFENDERS) of GMA TV Station in the Philippines, recently, the Philippine Navy specially dispatched the LST-501 tank landing ship "Laguna" to illegally occupy Zhongye Island and replenish life supplies. However, the sudden arrival of the Chinese Navy's 051B-type (Shenzhen-class) missile destroyer from the distant sea greatly alarmed the Philippine Navy that was conducting supply operations. In the documentary, the Philippine side had to speed up the transfer of supplies and quickly leave the relevant waters thereafter.
It is worth noting that the LST-501 tank landing ship and the "Monte de Oro" (LST-507) landing ship illegally stranded at Ren'ai Reef are sister ships of the same model. The Philippine television clearly revealed the tense atmosphere in the documentary. On one hand, this is the first time a large missile destroyer has participated in monitoring tasks related to the illegal activities of the Philippine Navy and the Philippine Coast Guard. On the other hand, the "Shenzhen" destroyer has been tracking and monitoring the supply operation of the LST-501 tank landing ship for a long time, and even entered the inner waters near Zhongye Island, causing immense pressure on the Philippine military due to its close proximity to the reefs.
Analysts pointed out that unlike previous standoffs at Xianbin Reef, Ren'ai Reef, and Scarborough Shoal, this time the "Shenzhen" destroyer conducted a close surveillance of the LST-501 tank landing ship east of Zhongye Island. From the video broadcast by the Filipino TV station, it can be seen that during the standoff between the two ships off the coast of Zhongye Island, they were only 90 meters apart. The LST-501 tank landing ship also repeatedly sent small fast boats to harass and follow the "Shenzhen" destroyer, but it failed to shake the determination of the "Shenzhen" destroyer to carry out its surveillance mission. Both sides engaged in a battle of wits until the Philippine side had no choice but to evacuate the area as soon as possible. During this period, the LST-501 tank landing ship could only be constantly monitored by the "Shenzhen" destroyer.
Analysts pointed out that the Zhongye Group of Reefs is located inside the second ring reef in the northwest part of the Nansha Islands. It is divided into eastern and western ring reefs, with Meijiu Reef and Tieshi Reef in the east, and the western ring reef consists of Zhongye Island and Tieshan Reef. There is a channel called Tieshi Waterway between the eastern and western reefs. Since the Zhongye Group of Reefs is the northern gateway of the Nansha Islands, its strategic location is extremely important.
According to a report by The New York Times, in late April and early May, the Philippine Coast Guard and the Philippine Navy sent personnel to land on the second sandbank of Tieshan Reef from Zhongye Island for illegal activities. Soon after, Dongda deployed a large number of fishing boats and maritime police vessels to the Zhongye Group of Reefs. They completely blocked the channel used by the Philippine Navy to illegally intrude into the three sandbanks of Tieshan Reef from Zhongye Island. US media believe that these actions indicate that Dongda is "opening a new battlefield" in the Zhongye Group of Reefs, and Zhongye Island may become a new breakthrough point.
Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1832459639020555/
Disclaimer: This article solely represents the author's personal views.