By Raymond Carl Dela Cruz
MANILA – The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has driven away the Chinese research vessel “JIA HAI KE 7” from the Philippine exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off Batanes province after four days of loitering, following a sustained operation by a PCG vessel and aircraft.
In a statement on Thursday, PCG Spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Rear Admiral Jay Tarriela said the vessel had been holding position about 37 nautical miles northwest of Itbayat town since the PCG discovered its presence on Sept. 28.
He said the PCG deployed BRP Teresa Magbanua (MRRV-9701) and the PCG Islander aircraft (tail number 251) on Thursday to challenge the vessel, disrupt its activities, and drive it away.
At 7:55 a.m., BRP Teresa Magbanua closed in on JIA HAI KE 7 to less than 100 yards and launched a rigid-hull inflatable boat (RHIB) to disrupt the vessel’s marine scientific research and compel it to leave. The RHIB circled JIA HAI KE 7 several times, keeping close pressure on the research vessel.
JIA HAI KE 7 repeatedly maneuvered to evade the PCG units, while BRP Teresa Magbanua issued continuous radio challenges.
During the operation, China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel CCG-2503 abruptly arrived in the vicinity and moved toward BRP Teresa Magbanua, issuing repeated radio challenges. BRP Teresa Magbanua shadowed the CCG vessel at about 1,000 yards while remaining close to the research vessel.
Tarriela said the involvement of a CCG vessel is significant because JIA HAI KE 7 is privately owned.
A government law enforcement ship moving to shield a supposedly private research vessel conducting illegal research in another country’s EEZ raises serious questions about who the vessel is really working for, he said.
Tarriela also raised questions about what data the vessel had collected over the country’s undersea cable corridors in the Luzon Strait over the past four days.
He said JIA HAI KE 7 had not moved from the area since it was discovered, saying a vessel exercising innocent passage or freedom of navigation would proceed on its course.
“Holding position in the same waters for four days is a clear indication that it was conducting marine scientific research,” he added.
PCG Commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan also deployed PCG Islander 251, which took off from Basco Airport to conduct a Maritime Domain Awareness flight over the area. The aircraft circled the vicinity several times at low altitude in support of BRP Teresa Magbanua.
By 11 a.m., BRP Teresa Magbanua remained about 37 nautical miles northwest of Itbayat, circling JIA HAI KE 7 at about 500 yards.
At around 11:42 a.m., JIA HAI KE 7 departed its position, moving at a speed of 4.6 knots. It was the first time the vessel had moved from the area since the PCG discovered its presence.
BRP Teresa Magbanua continues to shadow the research vessel to ensure it exits the Philippine EEZ.
Under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Philippine Maritime Zones Act, no foreign vessel may conduct marine scientific research in the Philippine EEZ without the express consent of the Philippine government.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that no such consent was given to JIA HAI KE 7.
The PCG said it will continue to challenge, disrupt, and drive away the vessel until it leaves Philippine waters, in accordance with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s guidance to protect the country’s maritime domain and not tolerate any unauthorized foreign research within Philippine waters.
On Monday, the PCG confirmed JIA HAI KE 7 was falsifying its Automatic Identification System data to conceal its true movements while loitering near a corridor hosting critical undersea communication cables, based on verification using the Canada-provided Dark Vessel Detection system.
The PCG assessed the falsified position data as deliberate spoofing, and said the vessel’s presence would have gone undetected were it not for its monitoring station in Itbayat. (PNA) | (Photo courtesy of PCG)
