Manila sends largest ship to challenge Chinese ship

The Philippine Coast Guard yesterday said it has deployed its largest vessel and an aircraft to challenge a Chinese research ship operating off northern Batanes near Taiwan, adding that a Chinese coast guard vessel had also moved in.

The Philippine operation “disrupted the vessel’s unauthorized marine scientific research and compelled it to leave its loitering position,” said Jay Tarriela, Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson on South China Sea issues.

The Philippine Coast Guard said the BRP Teresa Magbanua and an aircraft were deployed to counter the Chinese vessel, which it said had remained about 37 nautical miles northwest of Itbayat Island since Monday.

A child holds national flags of China and the Philippines in Beijing, China, October 20, 2016.

Photo: Reuters

The Chinese vessel Jia Hai Ke 7 is the same Chinese-flagged survey ship that the coast guard said was spoofing its location while loitering off Batanes.

The Teresa Magbanua moved within 100 yards of the Jia Hai Ke 7 and deployed a rigid-hull inflatable boat that circled the research vessel several times as personnel issued radio challenges, the coast guard said.

The research vessel repeatedly maneuvered to evade Philippine boats during the operation, it added.

A vessel identified by the Philippine Coast Guard as a Chinese navy ship ,background center, is seen past the Philippine Coast Guard ship BRP Cape Engano, right, during a supply mission to Sabina Shoal in disputed waters of the South China Sea on August 26, 2024.

Photo: AFP

A China Coast Guard vessel then arrived to try to shield the survey ship and issued its own radio challenges to the Philippine ship.

The involvement of a China Coast Guard vessel was “significant,” because Jia Hai Ke 7 is privately owned, raising questions about its links to the Chinese government and the purpose of the data it might have collected near undersea cable corridors off Batanes and the Luzon Strait, the Philippine Coast Guard said.

The research vessel was forced to leave its loitering position, with Teresa Magbanua continuing to monitor it to ensure it exited the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

The Chinese embassy in Manila said the research vessel was “conducting normal operations in waters under China’s jurisdiction” and accused the Philippines of harassment.

It urged Manila to stop interfering with Beijing’s scientific research activities.