PH Coast Guard verifying identity, capabilities of Chinese vessel in Bajo de Masinloc

MANILA — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) is trying to establish the identity and capabilities of a Chinese vessel that has remained near Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal since October 3, amid concerns it may be supporting illegal marine scientific research in the area.

PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Rear Admiral Jay Tarriela said the vessel was initially seen alongside another Chinese research vessel during the first week of October. The latter has since left, but the support vessel remains near the shoal.

“Perhaps they are still pursuing their illegal MSR [marine scientific research] inside Bajo de Masinloc… It appears na meron din siyang hinahatak na life raft, although there were no personnel on board,” Tarriela told reporters in an interview on Thursday.

“In the first week of October, there is a Chinese research vessel next to it. That’s why we thought it is just one of those support vessels. Ang kakaiba lang ngayon, nawala na ang Chinese research vessel, and yet the support vessel remains to be in Bajo de Masinloc,” he added.

However, Tarriela stressed that the vessel’s affiliation and technical capabilities have yet to be established.

“Even in any website, we’re trying to track what is the capability of this watercraft. We would like to believe that this is just one of those support vessels used by the Chinese government. We cannot really tell what is the technical capability of this watercraft,” the official said.

He then continued, “We tried to verify the affiliation of this vessel with any of those maritime universities used by China in doing marine scientific research for the past two years. Until now, we have not seen where it is affiliated and what are the details of this ship that we saw inside Bajo de Masinloc.”

No personnel were seen aboard the Chinese research support vessel.

The PCG also observed a structure at the vessel’s stern that could qualify as a remotely operated vehicle (ROV).

According to Tarriela, China may also deploy underwater drones for research, but the PCG has not confirmed whether such equipment is being used by the vessel.

“It is very difficult to tell. If we look at the photos and videos we took, and compare it with the ROV that we documented before na ginagamit ng China, this orange watercraft sa stern ng barko is a weird looking structure na magkaqualify to be categorized as an ROV,” the spokesperson said.

He went on, “Definitely, the Chinese are concerned on the seabed. There are different ways for them to do MSR. Siguro meron din silang underwater drones na dineploy… In different places before, mayroon silang mahahabang underwater drones na narecover tayo in different parts of the country. They can also launch those kinds of devices for them to carry out illegal MSR.”

During Thursday morning’s maritime domain awareness (MDA) flight, the PCG also monitored one People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), and three China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels and five Chinese maritime militia vessels near the shoal.

Tarriela said the number of Chinese vessels was not unusual, noting that the PCG typically monitors around four CCG vessels in the area, sometimes increasing to six.

“It is also a possibility that those other China Coast Guard vessels are in a different vicinity of Bajo de Masinloc. Hindi lang natin nakita. But I would like to believe that every time we monitor a high number of Chinese research vessels, dalawang bagay lang ‘yan—it’s either the China Coast Guard vessels will be dispersed in different areas of Bajo de Masinloc or it will entirely focus on Bajo de Masinloc, especially so if they’re going to assess nearby islands towards Bajo de Masinloc,” he noted.

Tarriela stressed that routine MDA flights aim to prevent China from normalizing its presence in the area and assert Philippine maritime rights.

“The objective of our MDA flight is to make sure that we are going to prevent China from normalizing this area and also to assert our rights, continuously challenge the presence of the China Coast Guard and even the Chinese maritime militia,” he said.

The official added that there have been no changes to the buoys, antenna, and floating barrier placed by Chinese maritime forces in the area.