Chinese ship monitored in Panatag for weeks, PCG says

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has revealed that a Chinese survey vessel, the Haiyang Dizhi Shihao, a 76-meter ship, has been illegally operating within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone (EEZ), and for three weeks, within the 12-nautical mile territorial sea of Panatag or Scarborough Shoal, for a total of 25 days. PCG spokesman for the West Philippine Sea, Rear Admiral Jay Tarriela, made this announcement. Tarriela reported that this operation was detected with the assistance of Canada’s Dark Vessel Detection program. He noted that the vessel had switched off its automatic identification system (AIS) to evade detection at sea. The research vessel, operated by the Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey, is equipped for deep-sea drilling and had drilled 302.07 meters beneath the seafloor in 2023. “This is the same vessel that spent seven weeks surveying inside Indonesia’s EEZ in the North Natuna Sea in 2021,” he added. The ship was escorted by the China Coast Guard before it withdrew from the waters ahead of the ASEAN summit, he added. Tarriela also flagged the timing of the vessel deployment, as it operated when the Philippines was dealing with severe weather conditions. “While the Philippines has been battered by typhoons and the monsoon these past weeks, China moved its survey vessel in at precisely the moment our vessels were least able to intercept it,” the PCG spokesman said. According to Tarriela, the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed that there was no permit for the vessel to conduct its marine scientific research. Meanwhile, the Department of National Defense (DND) denounced yesterday China’s latest efforts to sow disinformation and again claim that Batanes is part of China. In a statement, DND spokesman Arsenio Andolong said Batanes is not and has never been part of Chinese territory. China, through its so-called academic scholars, first claimed two months ago that Batanes belongs to China by way of Taiwan. Through an opinion piece published by state-run Global Times on Thursday, the argument was repeated. Relatedly, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. met with retired Supreme Court justice Antonio Carpio and retired Philippine Navy rear admiral Rommel Jude Ong yesterday for a discussion on the Law of the Sea and the assertion of Philippine maritime rights.