OMM Redaksiyası
The Philippines deployed a coast guard vessel and aircraft to challenge a Chinese research ship operating near the northern province of Batanes, the Philippine Coast Guard said on Thursday.
Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela said the BRP Teresa Magbanua and a Coast Guard Islander aircraft were sent to disrupt the activities of the JIA HAI KE 7 and drive it away from Philippine waters. He made the remarks in a statement on “X”.
Chinese vessel reported inside the EEZ
Tarriela said the research vessel had been inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), about 37 nautical miles northwest of Itbayat in Batanes, since its presence was confirmed on 28 September.
During the operation, Chinese Coast Guard vessel CCG-2503 arrived in the area and moved toward the BRP Teresa Magbanua, issuing repeated radio challenges, Tarriela said. The Philippine vessel shadowed it from about 1,000 yards away while remaining near the research ship.
Manila raises questions over research activity
Tarriela said China’s move to protect a vessel conducting what he described as illegal marine scientific research in another country’s EEZ raised questions about who the ship was working for.
He also questioned what data the vessel might have collected over the previous four days along undersea cable corridors in the Luzon Strait. Beijing had not responded to Manila’s claims at the time of the report.
The maritime neighbours have faced persistent tensions in the disputed South China Sea, where their claims overlap.
