THE Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Thursday deployed a patrol vessel and aircraft to challenge a Chinese research vessel operating inside the country's exclusive economic zone off Batanes, prompting a China Coast Guard ship to move into the area and issue repeated radio challenges.
The PCG said BRP Teresa Magbanua (MRRV-9701) closed in on the research vessel JIA HAI KE 7 to less than 100 yards at 7:55 a.m. and launched a rigid-hull inflatable boat to challenge its activities.
The RHIB maneuvered around JIA HAI KE 7 several times while the Philippine patrol vessel issued continuous radio challenges.
JIA HAI KE 7 repeatedly maneuvered to evade the Philippine units.
During the operation, CCG-2503 abruptly arrived and moved toward BRP Teresa Magbanua while issuing repeated radio challenges, the PCG said.
The Philippine vessel shadowed the China Coast Guard ship at about 1,000 yards while maintaining its position near JIA HAI KE 7.
The confrontation took place about 37 nautical miles northwest of Itbayat, Batanes, where the PCG first confirmed the presence of JIA HAI KE 7 on Sept. 28.
The PCG earlier said the vessel's movement pattern — holding its position instead of proceeding on a steady course — was consistent with marine scientific research rather than ordinary transit. It also said the vessel had failed to respond to repeated radio challenges.
The coast guard also accused JIA HAI KE 7 of deliberately spoofing its Automatic Identification System, or AIS, to conceal its movements.
The PCG said its Itbayat monitoring station detected the vessel and verification through the Canada-provided Dark Vessel Detection system showed an implausible AIS trail. The vessel reportedly transmitted a position off Papua New Guinea after departing Xiamen, China, before later appearing northwest of Itbayat.
JIA HAI KE 7 is a 2,000-ton, 70-meter vessel built for Zhuhai Jiahai Marine Technology Co. and placed in service in April 2025. Open-source information cited by the PCG describes it as a privately owned research vessel equipped with dynamic positioning and quiet electric propulsion for marine geological surveys.
The PCG has said the waters off Batanes and the Luzon Strait contain critical submarine cable corridors linking the Philippines with Northeast Asia and the wider Indo-Pacific.
It said the presence of a seabed-survey vessel that conceals its position while holding station in the area raises concerns about the security of the country's undersea communications infrastructure and the possible military use of data collected by the vessel.
On Thursday, PCG Commandant Adm. Ronnie Gil Gavan also ordered PCG Islander aircraft 251 to conduct a maritime domain awareness flight from Basco Airport.
The aircraft flew over the area and circled the vicinity of the two Chinese vessels and BRP Teresa Magbanua in support of the Philippine operation.
The coast guard said it would continue challenging the Chinese research vessel and take measures under Philippine law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea against unauthorized activities in the country's maritime zones.
