PCG: China’s largest research ship seen near Babuyan Island coastline

Philippine Coast Guard Commodore Jay Tarriela, spokesperson for West Philippine Sea.
INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / RICHARD A. REYES

MANILA, Philippines – One of China’s largest fisheries research ships, which was spotted within the Philippine archipelagic waters a few days ago, is now near the Babuyan Island coastline.

Commodore Jay Tarriela, Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, reported that Lan Hai 101 was last monitored around 11 a.m. on Wednesday about 62 nautical miles from the island, based on the agency’s dark vessel detection.

READ: China fisheries research ship spotted in PH archipelagic waters

“It just goes to show that this China Coast Guard fishery vessel is going northwards. There is a possibility that it will return to China because of why it reversed our western seaboard,” Tarriela said in an online interview on Wednesday.

In response, the PCG official said that BRP Cabra was initially dispatched to shadow Lan Hai 101, but another Chinese vessel — China Coast Guard (CCG) 3304 showed up.

“The CCG 3304 took this opportunity to accompany Cabra in following Lan Hai. Right now, it (CCG 3304) has a distance of 43 nautical miles off the coast of Pulinao, Pangasinan,” he revealed.

Tarriela said BRP Cabra is now on its way back to Zambales.

The presence of Lan Hai within the country’s archipelagic waters was first reported by Ray Powell, director of SeaLight, a program of Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation.

“The Lan Hai 101, one of  China’s two largest fisheries research ships, is now transiting the Philippines’ archipelagic waters. It appears to be en route to the Philippine Sea,” said Powell in a post on X last February 10.

PCG has been monitoring the movements of CCG vessels unlawfully operating within the country’s exclusive economic zone and near Zambales since January.

Beijing’s continued aggression was based on its assertion of sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, including most of the West Philippine Sea, as it continues to reject the 2016 arbitral ruling that effectively dismissed its claims and ruled in favor of Manila.