PCG deploys aircraft to check Chinese research ship in PH waters

Photo take earlier this year shows a China Coast Guard vessels in Philippine waters.  (Photo from the PCG)

Updated @ 6:31 p.m., April 2, 2025

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Wednesday deployed an aircraft as Chinese research ship was seen traversing the country’s archipelagic waters.

Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG Spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, announced the development at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay media forum.

“The Philippine Coast Guard deployed an aircraft this morning to challenge the presence of this Chinese research vessel,” Tarriela said.

However, after this, Tarriela later clarified that the aircraft was deployed for a routine maritime domain awareness (MDA) flight, and not because of the Chinese research ship alone.

MDA flight

“I would like to highlight that the directive for the aircraft to conduct an MDA flight is not exclusively to target this Chinese research vessel,” Tarriela said in another interview with reporters.

“I would like to highlight that this is just a routine MDA flight, and we were able to manage to also look into the presence of this Chinese research vessel,” he added.

As of 3:54 p.m., Tarriela said Song Hang was last spotted 50.8 nautical miles away from Calasaguen, Palawan.

To date, the vessel has not responded to PCG aircraft’s radio challenge, according to him.

“We asked for their purpose, what is their intention, why they are within our archipelagic waters,” he said. “Unfortunately, they did not respond to our radio call.”

Tarriela said the ship could be just invoking their right of innocent passage.

“Let me first reiterate, we inquired what their purpose was, but not directly challenging them because we know that they also have the right of innocent passage,” Tarriela said.

Archipelagic waters

“But we also advised them that they are not authorized or allowed to carry out malign scientific research within our own archipelagic waters,” he added.

SeaLight director Ray Powell on Tuesday night said research vessel Song Hang “has routinely taken inside 25 nautical miles of various islands, including Luzon.”

Powell also said that “while many ships pass through archipelagic waters, this ship does not appear to be moving straight through, as would be typical of an innocent passage.”

Powell raised the possibility that the research ship is conducting a surveillance.

“Although it is listed as a fisheries research ship, we generally assume that many of China’s research vessels are dual-use,” Powell told INQUIRER.net on Tuesday, adding that Beijing may be “just learning what they can learn about a potential adversary.”

Australian coast

According to Powell, the possible surveillance of Song Hang may be similar to the activities of another Chinese survey ship along the Australian coast.

According to Powell’s data, the 85-meter vessel departed Shanghai, China on March 26.

In 2017, China Daily reported that Song Hang is Beijing’s “first oceangoing fishery survey ship.

This is not the first time that Beijing’s ships enter Manila’s archipelagic waters.

Lan Hai 101, one of China’s largest fisheries research ships, transited inside the country’s archipelagic waters last February, passing between the islands of Busuanga and Mindoro at one point.