Chinese research vessel spotted in Philippine Rise

MANILA, Philippines, April 7 ------ A Chinese research boat was spotted operating illegally in the Philippines’ eastern waters, particularly in the potentially oil- and gas-rich Philippine (Benham) Rise.

Sealight, an independent maritime monitoring group headed by former US Air Force official and defense attaché Ray Powell, monitored the activities of Tan Suo Er Hao in Benham Rise and in the vicinity of Batanes within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ). “China’s deep-sea research vessel Tan Suo Er Hao appears to be conducting unauthorized survey activity inside the #Philippines’ exclusive economic zone since (April 2),” Powell said on X.

Sealight said the 87.25-meter Chinese vessel departed Sanya Port on March 15 and its voyage “first took it into the Benham Rise area east of the Philippines, where it also encroached on the edge the Philippine EEZ as it conducted surveys from 21-31 March.” “It then passed back through the Luzon Strait before briefly loitering 50 nautical miles from the Batanes Islands (also inside the Philippine EEZ) on April 1,” Sealight reported.

On Friday, the Chinese research vessel was monitored roughly 100 nautical miles from the nearest Philippine baseline around Babuyan Islands. Sealight said the Tan Suo Er Hao is operated by the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Deep-Sea Science and Engineering. The vessel, the report said, serves as the mothership for China’s Fendouzhe and Shenhaiyongshi crewed submersibles. “Its 13 onboard laboratories and full-ocean-depth geological winch give it significant deep-sea research and intelligence collection capability,” Sealight said.

Sealight noted that under Article 246 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), marine scientific research in the EEZ of a coastal state requires the latter’s “express consent.” In December last year, the Philippine Coast Guard challenged the same research vessel after it was monitored conducting surveys within approximately 19 nautical miles off the coast of Cagayan province.

Source: philstar.com