Philippines confronts Chinese ship’s ‘unlawful activities’ amid South China Sea tensions

Manila deployed a coastguard vessel and aircraft to challenge a Chinese research ship conducting illegal activities in its waters last week, the Philippines coastguard said

The Philippines has deployed a coastguard vessel and an aircraft to challenge and escort a Chinese research ship it said was conducting illegal marine scientific research activities within the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The Chinese Research Vessel (CRV) Tan Suo 3 was detected entering the country’s EEZ last Thursday, around 92 nautical miles off the Philippines’ northern Ilocos coast, the Philippines coastguard said in a statement on Monday.

“Their irregular movements were deemed inconsistent with the freedom of navigation and indicative of marine scientific research activities, which violate the sovereign rights of the Philippines,” the statement said.

It said it launched a maritime law enforcement operation to challenge the Chinese vessel’s presence, and had prevented the vessel from continuing its “unlawful activities”.

During the operation, the coastguard reported spotting a manned deep-sea submersible, named the Shenhai Yongshi or Deep-Sea Warrior, which was retrieved by the Chinese vessel.

The submersible is capable of diving to 4,500 metres (2.8 miles) and is typically deployed for deep-sea exploration and scientific missions, the coastguard said.

It said it also observed a Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat recovering a yellow-coloured, unidentified piece of equipment potentially linked to marine research.

“These actions of the CRV serves as clear evidence that the People’s Republic of China are conducting illegal marine scientific research activities within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, lacking the legal authority to undertake such activities in this area,” the coastguard said.

The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment.