Chinese Coast Guard Ship Spotted Just 50 Nautical Miles from Sarawak’s Coast – Observer
In a post on platform X (@GordionKnotRay), Powell revealed that Chinese Coast Guard vessels routinely breach the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of neighboring countries, conducting patrols that underscore Beijing’s growing assertiveness in contested waters.
(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) – A Chinese Coast Guard vessel, CCG 5403, has ventured alarmingly close—within just 50 nautical miles—of Sarawak’s coast in Malaysia over the past week, raising concerns about escalating tensions in the region, according to South China Sea observer Ray Powell.
In a post on platform X (@GordionKnotRay), Powell revealed that Chinese Coast Guard vessels routinely breach the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of neighboring countries, conducting patrols that underscore Beijing’s growing assertiveness in contested waters.
According to him, these patrols are “activities aimed at establishing a continuous presence and gradually normalizing Chinese jurisdiction over areas granted to its neighbors under international law.”
“While China Coast Guard 5403 has approached within 50 nautical miles of Malaysia’s coast over the past week, CCG 5305 moved north from Malaysia’s EEZ on January 31 and entered Vietnam’s EEZ,” Powell wrote.
“Since then, it has pushed further into Vietnam’s offshore oil and gas fields near Vanguard Bank,” he added.
Powell did not mention whether Malaysian patrol vessels were present near the Chinese Coast Guard ships. However, it is common practice for vessels from the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) to be in close proximity, shadowing Chinese enforcement ships during such activities.

Powell, a former U.S. Air Force colonel, currently leads the Project Myoushu at the Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, Stanford University.
Ship tracking data indicates that CCG 5403 is believed to be operating near the Kasawari gas development project, managed by Malaysia’s national oil and gas company, Petronas, within Block SK316, which is clearly located inside Malaysia’s EEZ.
The Kasawari Gas Field is being developed and operated by Petronas Carigali, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Petronas.
The project is estimated to be worth billions of ringgit.
Discovered in November 2011, the Kasawari Gas Field in Block SK316, offshore Sarawak in the South China Sea, is estimated to contain around 3 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of recoverable natural gas reserves, which can be extracted, processed, and commercialized.
The discovery of Kasawari further strengthens Malaysia’s position as one of the world’s largest exporters of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Greed…I rest my case.