Philippine officials on Tuesday criticized China's deployment of a "monster ship" inside Manila's exclusive economic zone.

The government lodged a protest over the presence of the 165-meter-long Chinese vessel. It was reportedly traveling around Scarborough Shoal and 110 to 160 kilometers off Luzon's western coast.

A spokesperson said China has repeatedly been navigating along the "nine-dash line," which Beijing claims as the basis for its territorial rights in the South China Sea.

They also said the China Coast Guard uses multiple vessels that take over from one another.

At a news conference, Philippine National Security Council spokesperson Jonathan Malaya called the ship's presence "an escalation and provocative." He added that his government doesn't want to "normalize this kind of behavior."

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said its coast guard's "patrol and law enforcement activities" were "reasonable, lawful and beyond reproach."

Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, including areas within Manila's EEZ.