2 Chinese research ships seen within PH EEZ —PCG
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Tuesday said two Chinese research vessels were monitored within the country's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
In a press conference, PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea (WPS) Commodore Jay Tarriela identified the Chinese ships as Xiang Yang Hong 302 and Tan Suo Er Hao.
Xiang Yang Hong 302 departed Hainan in China last May 1 and was located 180 nautical miles off the coast of Rizal, Palawan in the Philippines at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, according to Tarriela.
'This research vessel is under the administration of the State Oceanic Administration. It is intended for use by the [People's Liberation Army Navy of China] for oceanography. It has an overall length of 100 meters and 4,500 tons,' Tarriela said.
'The capability of this Chinese research vessel is to conduct deep sea surveying. This is the reason why it is also equipped with remotely operated vehicles and private underwater drones,' he added.
Tan Suo Er Hao departed Hainan on May 8 and was located 130.5 nautical miles from Burgos, Ilocos Norte, according to Tarriela.
'This Chinese research vessel is under the administration of China Ocean Mineral Resources Research and Development Association (COMRA) and it is manned by the Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering,' Tarriel said.
'It has the capability of also the same with the Xiang Yang Hong 302. It has the capability for deep sea research capability,' he added.
Aircraft deployed
According to Tarriela, PCG chief Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan has deployed an aircraft conducting maritime domain awareness flight to monitor Tan Suo Er Hao.
Aside from the two Chinese vessels, Tarriela said Zhong Shan Da Xue was also monitored within the Philippines' EEZ but returned to Guangdong at 9:56 a.m. on Tuesday.
'As early as March 31, it departed Guangdong province. It spent a considerable large number of conducting marine scientific research up north within the EEZ of the Philippines and sometimes crossing also the Taiwan Strait. It only returned to Guangdong province May 20,' Tarriela said.
'As you can see from the navigation pattern of this Chinese research vessel, the Chinese government cannot deny that what they are doing there is actually a marine scientific research,' he added.
Tarriela said Zhong Shan Da Xue is owned and operated by Sun Yat-sen University.
'Probably the Chinese government can also reason that it is purely for scientific and civilian use. But there are also reports that the scientific findings of this research vessel is also being forwarded to the PLA Navy for whatever reasons that they can make use of those data,' he added.
Tensions continue as Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual shipborne commerce, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei.
Parts of the South China Sea that fall within Philippine territory have been renamed by the government as West Philippine Sea to reinforce the country's claim.
The West Philippine Sea refers to the maritime areas on the western side of the Philippine archipelago including Luzon Sea and the waters around, within and adjacent to the Kalayaan Island Group and Bajo de Masinloc.
In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines over China's claims in the South China Sea, saying that it had "no legal basis."
China has refused to recognize the decision. —AOL, GMA Integrated News
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