SUMMARY
MANILA, Philippines – The “largest blockade” of Chinese vessels is en route to Panatag Shoal (also known as Scarborough Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc) in the West Philippine Sea, ahead of a civilian mission to the area, said an expert and observer of maritime movements in the region on Monday, May 13.
Raymond Powell, a retired United States air force colonel who leads Project Myoushu at Stanford University, said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that China was “sending a huge force to blockade Scarborough Shoal.” Within a day of his post, said Powell, over four China Coast Guard vessels and 25 of its maritime militia ships would be in the vicinity of the shoal.
“This will be by far the largest blockade I’ll have ever tracked at Scarborough. China seems determined to aggressively…