Philippines moves to drive off Chinese research ship near Batanes amid undersea cable concerns

A Chinese civilian research vessel, the Jia Hai Ke 7, has been operating in waters off the Philippines' Batanes Islands for more than a week, according to the South China Morning Post. 1 AIS data tracked by MarineTraffic show the ship left Xiamen on 19 September, arrived near Itbayat in Batanes on 22 September and stayed through at least Tuesday. 1 Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela said the ship was loitering and holding position, a pattern he said is typical of marine scientific research rather than transit. The SCMP puts it about 38 nautical miles (70km) northwest of Itbayat, while Anadolu cites 37 nautical miles. 1 2

Both outlets say the coast guard confirmed the ship's presence on Monday, 28 September. Philippine aerial patrols issued three radio challenges demanding it declare its mission and stop unauthorised surveys, and received no response. 1 2 On Thursday 1 October, Tarriela said the coast guard had deployed BRP Teresa Magbanua (MRRV-9701) and a PCG Islander aircraft to challenge the vessel, disrupt its activities and drive it away from Philippine waters. 2 He said China Coast Guard vessel CCG-2503 arrived abruptly, moved toward the Philippine ship and issued repeated radio challenges, and that BRP Teresa Magbanua shadowed it at about 1,000 yards while staying close to the research vessel. 2

Tarriela said the Chinese coast guard's move to shield a supposedly private vessel raises questions about who the ship is working for, and about what data it has collected over undersea cable corridors in the Luzon Strait. 2 The SCMP says the presence of the ship has stirred concern in Manila over subsea telecommunications cables in the Luzon Strait that link Southeast Asia to North America and northeast Asia. It also notes wider concern about China using research vessels to assert claims, map the seabed for possible military use and gather intelligence on undersea infrastructure. 1 The Chinese embassy in Manila said the vessel was operating within waters under Chinese jurisdiction. The state-run Global Times called its work legitimate and lawful offshore marine geological surveys and accused the Philippines of overstretching the concept of security. 1

Anadolu reported that Beijing had not yet responded to Manila's latest claims. 2 The SCMP places the episode in a wider dispute. Manila and Tokyo agreed in May to start talks on delimiting their overlapping exclusive economic zones and continental shelves, and Beijing called this unlawful and void, saying the waters form part of Chinese maritime zones projected from Taiwan. The SCMP adds that some Chinese scholars argued in June that the Batanes are a natural extension of Taiwan, a view Beijing has not officially endorsed. 1 The SCMP describes the 70-metre Jia Hai Ke 7 as China's first privately owned research ship with a Dynamic Positioning Class 2 system, built for Zhuhai Jiahai Marine Technology Co and in service since April last year. It also recalls that last month Manila accused another Chinese survey vessel, the Haiyang Dizhi 10, of 25 days of illegal operations in the Philippine EEZ, including at Scarborough Shoal. 1