PCG says Chinese vessel spotted near southern Luzon waters

THE PHILIPPINE Coast Guard (PCG) on Monday said a Chinese research vessel had passed though the country’s northernmost province of Batanes before lingering in the waters off southern Luzon.

The Chinese vessel Shen Kuo passed through Itbayat and Basco in Batanes before “loitering” in waters off Catanduanes province, PCG spokesman Jay Tristan Tarriela told reporters in a group message.

“It then proceeded southward, coming within 11 nautical miles of the coast of Mapanas, Northern Samar on April 25,” he said. “After that, it traveled north again until it reached the waters off Catanduanes, where it was monitored by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).”

The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately reply to a Viber message seeking comment.

Batanes is just a few kilometers away from Taiwan, a United States ally that China considers as a renegade province. The northernmost province is among the key sites of the US-Philippines military drills that started on April 24 and will end on May 8.

The Philippine military on Sunday said the Chinese vessel was spotted off Viga town in Catanduanes on Saturday.

It said Shen Kuo was spotted 60.9 nautical miles east of Rapu-Rapu Island in Albay on Thursday.

The vessel had no personnel on the main deck, it said, citing an April 29 patrol.

There were attempts to contact the vessel through regular radio channels, but it did not respond, according to the military.

“The AFP remains vigilant, monitoring any unauthorized research vessel in our maritime domain,” it said. “We have already tasked nearby vessels for enhanced surveillance and reporting.”

This was the second time a Chinese research vessel was seen loitering in the Philippines’ eastern section near Benham Rise, a 24-million-hectare underwater feature within the country’s continental shelf.

“The presence of the Chinese research vessels in the Luzon Strait down to the Philippine Rise in the East Sea can be construed as a scientific way of surveying the maritime domains of the Philippines, which is primarily located in the first island chain,” Chester B. Cabalza, founder of Manila-based International Development and Security Cooperation (IDSC), said in a Facebook Messenger chat.

“Research vessels are the safest way to legitimize espionage measures.”

Mr. Cabalza said the presence of the Chinese research vessel could also be linked to the Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) drills between the Philippines and the US, noting that the activities, which are observed by more than a dozen countries, are also focused on Batanes and Ilocos coastlines.

Two Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels were seen tailing Filipino, American and French warships taking part in a maritime exercise under this year’s Balikatan at about 9 a.m. on April 29, the state-run Philippine News Agency said, citing the military’s Western Command.

The warships were expected to hold gunnery exercises, cross-deck operations and photo exercises later in the day.

The Philippine military on Sunday said a Chinese Navy ship was spotted about 7 to 8 nautical miles from the US and Philippine vessels holding Balikatan exercises near northern Palawan. Another PLAN ship was spotted on Saturday.

The PCG, which is participating in the Balikatan drills for the first time, said the presence of Chinese Navy vessels would not prevent Manila and its allies “from carrying out these kinds of exercises.”

“China’s only intention is to make their presence known,” Mr. Tarriela told Radyo630. “They want to say that they are in the area. Definitely, we will not stop our drills because they are there.”

Meanwhile, Senator Francis N. Tolentino pushed a bill setting a fine of as much as P10 million against vessels that fail to help ships and people in distress within Philippine waters, citing the need to protect poor Filipino fishermen.

“What we are trying to do here is to merge international law with domestic legislation and I see this as a gap considering that we have fishermen going out there during the typhoon season and there is really a need to provide penalties for those who fail to render assistance,” he told a foreign relations committee hearing.

Under Senate Bill No. 1388, vessels that fail to help a person or another ship in distress will be fined P5 million to P10 million. 

At the same hearing, Senator Maria Imelda “Imee” R. Marcos cited the need to classify vessels liable for the penalties. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza and John Victor D. Ordoñez