Chinese ship possibly on intel mission off PH island

Chinese research vessel Xiang Yang Hong 05 was first tracked approximately 37 nautical miles off Sta. Ana coast, prompting the Philippine Coast Guard to dispatch one of its aircraft in the area on Saturday, August 2, 2025. — Photo from PCG

MANILA, Philippines — The Chinese research ship recently spotted off Babuyan Island may have collected intelligence while in the area, according to a maritime expert.

Chinese vessel Xiang Yang Hong 05 was last spotted at a distance of 14.92 nautical miles (27.6 km) from Babuyan Island, according to Commodore Jay Tarriela, Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea.

While near the area, the Chinese vessel was observed to have slowed down, US security expert Ray Powell told the Inquirer in a message on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday night.

READ: Chinese research vessel enters Luzon Strait; PCG sends aircraft

“While it was not surveying within the Philippines’ EEZ (exclusive economic zone), it did slow noticeably to between 1 [and] 2 knots just outside the Philippines’ territorial sea west of the Babuyan Islands, indicating it may have been taking the opportunity of its transit to collect intelligence while it was in the area,” said Powell, program head of Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation.

He noted that Xiang Yang Hong 05 transited the Philippines’ EEZ through the Luzon Strait in June before conducting a 40-day survey east of Guam. It then returned last week through the Luzon Strait, a crucial passage that connects the Philippine Sea with the West Philippine Sea. /cb