THE Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) detected a Chinese research vessel 19 nautical miles off the coast of Cagayan province.
In a Facebook post, PCG Spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Jay Tarriela identified the vessel as CRV Tan Suo Er Hao, “an 87.25-meter advanced deep-sea scientific research vessel.” It is operated by the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering.
Tarriela said that the CRV is the mothership of both manned and unmanned deep-sea submersibles, supporting deep-sea operations.
In response to this, Commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan challenged CRV by ordering a PCG Islander aircraft to conduct a Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) flight on Tuesday morning.
The PCG said that the deployment of the aircraft was also to determine whether the CRV was conducting marine scientific research without the consent of the Philippine government.
Should that be the case, according to the PCG, it is a violation of Philippine Maritime Zones Act and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
During the MDA flight, the CRV was heading eastward at 55.78 nautical miles east of Santa Ana, Cagayan.
“The PCG pilot issued multiple radio challenges to the vessel, inquiring about its intentions and reminding it of the requirement for prior consent for marine scientific research in Philippine waters,’ Tarriela said.
However, the CRV did not respond.
Based on PCG’s monitoring, the CRV departed from Hainan, China earlier this month and was sailing through the western Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone.
The Chinese Embassy in Manila said in a statement that their vessel was conducting a “normal navigation” and does not recognize the Philippine Maritime Zones Act and the Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act’s designation of Balintang Strait as the only strait for international passage in northern Philippines.
“The Bashi Channel, Balintang Strait and Babuyan Strait in northern Philippines together form the Luzon Strait, which is a strait for international passage. China enjoys the right of passage through the archipelago maritime route in accordance with international law, including UNCLOS,” the statement read.