MALACANANG and the Armed Forces yesterday expressed concern over the presence of the “monster ship” of the China Coast Guard (CCG) in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Navy spokesman Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said the presence of the Chinese monster ship in the West Philippine Sea is a cause for concern.
“Any intrusion, even only one ship, is a concern of the AFP,” he said in a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo.
Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, in a briefing, said the Chinese ship has been coming and going in the country’s EEZ.
“We view it with concern … So far, we have been challenging the presence of that monster ship. Our Coast Guard has always been very alert in following up the presence of that monster ship. It comes and goes and it is within our exclusive economic zone,” Bersain said in mixed English and Filipino.
Trinidad said the Navy is coordinating with the Coast Guard, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, and the Maritime Police and other government agencies “to address such.”
The 12,000-ton CCG 5901, known as “The Monster” which is the world’s largest coast guard vessel, was first spotted 54 nautical miles off Capones Island in Zambales last Saturday. On Sunday morning, it was monitored some 80 nautical miles off Lubang Island in Occidental Mindoro.
US maritime expert Raymond Powell, who first reported the presence of the Chinese ship in Zambales, said the vessel was conducting “intrusive patrol” to assert China’s jurisdiction over the West Philippine Sea.
“Yes, it is concerning. Not only the monster ship, but even the other intrusions in our EEZ in the West Philippine Sea,” said Trinidad.
“We take this seriously,” said Trinidad.
Trinidad declined to say the latest location of the Chinese vessel, deferring to the PCG which continues to track the vessel.
“But rest assured, your AFP will continue conducting our maritime and air patrols in the West Philippine Sea, even focusing on BDM (Bajo de Masinloc) for this particular case,” said Trinidad.
In a statement on Monday night, PCG spokesman for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela said the PCG was “maintaining its vigilant monitoring of the illegal presence” of the Chinese vessel in the country’s EEZ.
“Observations reveal that the CCG vessel’s erratic movements indicate it is not engaged in innocent passage but rather asserts that it is conducting a law enforcement operation, claiming jurisdiction over these waters as belonging to the People’s Republic of China,” he said.
Tarriela said PCG vessel BRP Cabra continues to challenge the Chinese vessel and is “diligently tailing and shadowing CCG-5901 to uphold Philippine sovereign rights.”
Trinidad said the presence of the Chinese vessel will not deter the military from doing conducting patrols in the West Philippine Sea.
“The Armed Forces is continuing its mandate of patrolling the seas and the air. We will not be deterred in spite of the presence, the illegal presence of any foreign vessel,” he said.
Bersamin said the Chinese vessel’s presence could be a matter of projecting power.
Asked if the Philippines has talked with China about the matter, Bersamin said the Philippines has been filing protests over Chinese incursions even while it continues to engage China in a dialogue with the aim of coming up with a peaceful settlement of that dispute in the West Philippine Sea.
DRONE
Senate President pro tempore Jinggoy Estrada said the sighting of the presence of the monster ship is “deeply concerning” amid the recovery of a submersible drone in the waters of Masbate late last month.
In a statement released Monday night, Estrada, who is chairman of the Committee on National Defense, said China’s repeated unauthorized activities in Philippine waters “raise significant concerns about China’s respect for international law and the sovereignty of the Philippines.”
“Such incidents emphasize the need for ongoing vigilance and a firm commitment to protecting our territorial integrity and maritime rights,” he added.
The Philippine Navy said it may take six to eight weeks to complete a probe on the submersible drone, believed to be from China, that was recovered by fishermen off San Pascual, Masbate on December 30.
The Navy said the drone, with markings HY-119, was probably launched from a ship, ruling out aircraft and submarine as the drone’s launching platform.
“A six- to eight-week forensics analysis is ongoing to determine its origin, its purpose and technical specifications,” Navy spokesman Commander John Percie Alcos told a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo.
The fishermen turned over the drone to the police which handed it to the Navy the following day.
“The analysis will examine the object’s physical structure, electronic components, power source and any possible stored data,” Alcos said.
MILITARY APPLICATIONS
Alcos said the drone is typically used for scientific purposes or fishing purposes “as they are designed to be easily visible from the air.”
“While initial observation suggests that it may be a submersible used for scientific research or fish tracking, alternative perspectives point to possible military applications,” he also said.
Trinidad said the bright yellow drone is 3.5 meters long, 24 cm in diameter and weighs 94 kilos.
“Equipment such as this are used for gathering bathymetric data such as water temperature, the depth of water and salinity,” he said.
He added, “In today’s world that information crisscrosses different dimensions, what is useful for academic purposes, for commercial purposes, for scientific research also has military applications.”
Bicol police regional office director Brig. Gen. Andre Dizon has said the HY-119 “refers to a Chinese underwater navigation and communication system” based on open-source research.
Asked if the drone was indeed launched by China, Trinidad said: “Open sources would tell us the manufacturer. But again, these do not amount to anything. We need hard scientific evidence to say where this came from and what are the other parameters surrounding its presence.”
He noted that such drones are “commercially available.”
As to the launching platform, Trinidad said, “The absence of any attachments for airdrop capability would rule out an air launch platform.”
Also, Trinidad said that since wings of the drone were not foldable, “we could rule out a submarine launch method for this.”
“So most likely, this was launched from a mother ship, a mother craft,” he said, referring to a surface vessel.
Trinidad said this is not the first time the military came across such drones. Some were “intact” and others were only parts.
“We have done a complete analysis of only one, the first one which arrived middle of last year. We are withholding the report considering that we would like to get a bigger picture. We would like to correlate all the different reports which take time to come in,” Trinidad said.
