A CHINESE research vessel spotted off Palawan has not committed any infraction during its passage in the country’s archipelagic waters, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said yesterday.
Commodore Jay Tarriela, the PCG’s spokesman for the West Philippine Sea, said the research vessel, named Song Hang, was some 35.5 nautical miles from Mapun Island in Tawi-Tawi as of noon yesterday.
The PCG monitored the vessel some 37 nautical miles south of Cuyo Island in Palawan on Tuesday afternoon. On Wednesday morning, it was some 58 nautical miles east of Aborlan, Palawan.
A PCG aircraft issued radio challenge on Wednesday morning to the vessel, which came from Shanghai in China but it did not respond.
Tarriela said a patrolling PCG vessel, BRP Malapascua, made a radio challenge to the Chinese vessel on Wednesday night. He said the Chinese vessel responded this time.
He said the research vessel declared it was proceeding to the Sibuto Passage, en route to Indian Ocean. “They entered the Mindoro Strait, proceeding down to Sibuto Passage. That is basically our archipelagic sea lanes,” he said.
“And what is quite unusual in the response of the Chinese (on board the vessel) is that they they’re going to Indian Ocean to catch fish,” said Tarriela.
Tarriela said the vessel declared that it has 25 crew members and gave the name of its master during the radio challenge.
At 7 a.m. yesterday, Tarriela said, BRP Malapascua again issued a radio challenge to the Chinese vessel.
“The crew of the Song Hang reiterated their destination as the Indian Ocean, adding that their purpose is to conduct fishing activities there,” he said.
Tarriela said PCG, based on their continuing monitoring, did not see Chinese vessel deploying equipment that would indicate they are conducting marine scientific research (MSR).
“As to their presence, we have seen any action on their part to show their purpose is to conduct MSR,” said Tarriela.
Tarriela also said the vessel did not stop and maintained a speed of 10 to 40 knots.
“We haven’t monitored any illegal activities to say they are taking advantage of such right (of innocent passage),” he said. “What we’ve monitored so far does not constitute any violation on the part of this Chinese research vessel,” said Tarriela.
He noted that the Chinese vessel did not deploy any equipment, it did not stop, it did not fish and it responded to the PCG’s radio challenge.
“They have been cooperative so far and as I said, when they were navigating this area it is continuous and expeditious,” said Tarriela.
Last February, a Chinese research vessel (Lan Hai 101) also passed the country’s archipelagic sea lanes and did not also commit any infraction. The vessel came from the Port of Klang in Malaysia, en route to Shandong, China.
