The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) confirmed the presence of Chinese marine scientific research (MSR) vessels near the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

In a news forum on Saturday in Quezon City, PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea (WPS) Commodore Jay Tarriela said three Chinese MSR vessels—the Xiang Yang Hong 3, Jia Geng, and Xiang Yang Hong 10—were detected on 17 November, sailing 257 nautical miles northeast of Santa Ana, Cagayan.

He said the vessels were observed twice within the 200-nautical-mile limit of the Philippines’ EEZ.

According to Tarriela, the Jia Geng was monitored once on 14 November within the country’s 200-nautical-mile EEZ near Davao Oriental.

The PCG spotted the Xiang Yang Hong 10 miles east of Siargao Island within the Philippine EEZ on 20 November.

Passing by

“Basically, it was just passing through; it never loitered. It entered and made a turn," Tarriela said.

The PCG also noted the presence of these vessels 211 nautical miles east of Siargao Island in Surigao del Norte, as of press time.

“It is outside of our exclusive economic zone. However, we’re still monitoring the movements of these Chinese research vessels because, at some point, they entered our exclusive economic zone in the past days,” he said.

Meanwhile, Tarriela flagged a foreign research vessel that was in Philippine waters without permission from the authorities.

“For the EEZ, since the Philippines has sovereign rights to exploit and explore these areas, a foreign-flagged marine scientific research vessel should seek clearance,” he said.

Tarriela said the PCG will raise the matter to the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

“It is up to the DFA to take action regarding their [Chinese ships’] presence,” he added, noting that the PCG will continue to monitor and document the movements of these vessels.

Moreover, Tarriela lamented the presence of Chinese maritime militia vessels near Pag-asa Island in the WPS, following the reported swarming of these ships in the area.

Tarriela said the PCG monitored more than 80 Chinese vessels at Pagasa on 27 November.

“This has always been a concern for the Philippine government. We are explaining the phenomenon, why it goes up and then declines, but every time they enter our territorial sea in Pag-asa, we constantly radio-challenge these Chinese maritime militias,” he said.

Citing the PCG’s latest monitoring, Tarriela said the number of Chinese vessels in the key-occupied features in the WPS has declined to 30.