DFA rejects China's claim over Batanes waters

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs on Friday, October 2, "firmly and strongly" rejected China's claim that it has sovereign rights and jurisdiction in waters off Batanes, affirming that Manila never allowed a Chinese research ship to carry out studies there.

The survey vessel Jia Hai Ke 7 was recently spotted about 37 nautical miles northwest of Itbayat, "well within" the Philippines' exclusive economic zone (EEZ), the DFA said.

"The Philippines did not receive any request from the Chinese side and no consent has been given to any Chinese vessel to conduct MSR (marine scientific research)," the department said.

Under Article 246 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), research in a coastal state's EEZ and continental shelf requires that state's consent. 

The DFA said the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) was conducting "lawful and routine law enforcement operations" when it responded to the presence of the Chinese vessel.  

The department urged China to meet its obligations under international law and to "avoid actions that are counter-productive and undermine efforts to rebuild mutual trust." 

Embassy accuses PCG of harassment

The DFA was responding to an October 1 statement by the Chinese Embassy in Manila Deputy Spokesperson Guo Wei, who said the ship was conducting "normal operations in waters under China's jurisdiction" in line with international law, including UNCLOS.

Guo accused the PCG of harassing the vessel and said that doing so had infringed on China's sovereign rights and jurisdiction and endangered Chinese ships and crew. 

China "has taken, and will continue to take, resolute measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests," he said.

Rear Adm. Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, urged Guo to stop meddling and vowed that the coast guard would keep driving away Chinese research ships that conduct research activities in Philippine waters without permission. 

The PCG said it had monitored Jia Hai Ke 7 inside the country's EEZ since Monday, September 28. 

Among others, Tarriela accused the ship of transmitting false location data, an action called "spoofing," as it lingered near an undersea cable corridor.

In response, on Thursday, October 1, the PCG deployed its flagship 97-meter BRP Teresa Magbanua and a patrol aircraft to the area. 

The Teresa Magbanua approached within less than 100 yards of the Chinese research ship and launched a rigid-hull inflatable boat to drive it away, while its personnel repeatedly issued radio challenges.

The Chinese vessel repeatedly maneuvered to evade the Philippine boats, the PCG said.

China Coast Guard vessel 2503 then arrived and issued its own radio challenges. 

"The involvement of a China Coast Guard vessel is significant because JIA HAI KE 7 is privately owned," the PCG said in a statement yesterday. 

"A government law enforcement ship moving to shield a supposedly private research vessel conducting illegal MSR in another country's EEZ raises serious questions about who JIA HAI KE 7 is really working for," it added.

According to the PCG, the Jia Hai Ke 7 left at around noon, heading north with the Chinese coast guard ship, while the Teresa Magbanua shadowed it to make sure it exited the EEZ.

Rising tension up north

The standoff is the latest friction over the waters around Batanes, the Philippines' northernmost province, which sits between Luzon and Taiwan.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announced in May that Manila and Tokyo would begin talks to fix the maritime boundary where their EEZs and continental shelves overlap. 

China's foreign ministry reacted to these talks and described them as "illegal, null and void," as it argues the area lies east of Taiwan, which it claims as part of its territory.

In June, Chinese scholars at a symposium in Guangzhou claimed Batanes is a natural geographical extension of Taiwan and therefore falls under China's sovereignty.  

Beijing did not formally echo the scholars' claim at the time.