The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has monitored and challenged the presence of a Chinese research vessel operating within the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), after the ship was spotted off Batanes, Tuesday morning, April 15.
Commodore Jay Tarriela, the PCG spokesperson for the West Philippines Sea, said the detected Chinese vessel ZHONG SHAN DA XUE was sighted about 78.21 nautical miles northeast of Itbayat, Batanes, at around 8:00 a.m.
PCG said the Chinese vessel ignored their radio contact.
“The crew of the PCG Islander attempted to establish radio communication with the vessel multiple times, but there was no response,” said Tariella in a X post.
In their radio challenge, PCG aviators asserted that the ship was conducting unauthorized marine scientific research inside the Philippine EEZ.
The PCG emphasized that such activities violate international and domestic maritime laws, specifically citing the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Philippine Maritime Zones Act.
