Philippine Coast Guard West Philippine Sea spokesperson Rear Adm. Jay Tarriela said the 76-meter Chinese vessel Haiyang Dizhi Shihao entered the Philippines’ EEZ around Aug. 10 and remained in the area for 25 days.
About three weeks of that period were spent within the 12-nautical-mile territorial sea around Panatag Shoal, according to the PCG.
Tarriela said the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the Philippines had not issued the vessel a permit to conduct marine scientific research.
He therefore described the reported research activity as illegal under Philippine jurisdiction.
Importantly, this characterization comes from Philippine authorities. China disputes Manila’s maritime claims around Scarborough Shoal, so the competing positions should be clearly distinguished.
Why the vessel is raising eyebrows
According to Tarriela, Haiyang Dizhi Shihao is not simply an ordinary research vessel.
It is operated by the Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey under China’s Ministry of Natural Resources and is capable of drilling into the seabed.
Tarriela said the vessel drilled a core extending 302.07 meters below the seafloor in 2023.
That capability matters because seabed surveys can provide detailed geological and subsurface information.
BusinessMirror separately reported that the vessel is designed for geological surveys capable of examining the seabed and shallow subsurface, raising questions about what information may have been collected during its extended presence at Panatag.
However, there is currently no publicly established evidence showing exactly what the vessel was surveying during this latest operation. That distinction is important.
The ship’s tracking signal was reportedly switched off
Tarriela also said the vessel intermittently turned off its Automatic Identification System, or AIS.
AIS normally broadcasts a ship’s identification and location information, although vessels can legally have circumstances in which AIS is not continuously transmitting.
The PCG said it was nevertheless able to continue tracking the vessel through Canada’s Dark Vessel Detection program, a satellite-based system designed to help detect vessels that may not be broadcasting AIS signals.
Timing of the operation draws scrutiny
Tarriela also questioned the timing of the vessel’s deployment.
He said the ship entered the area while the Philippines was dealing with typhoons and the southwest monsoon, when bad weather could make maritime operations more difficult.
Tarriela alleged that China moved the survey vessel into the area when Philippine vessels were less capable of intercepting it. That is an allegation from the Philippine Coast Guard, rather than an independently established explanation for the timing.
This is not the vessel’s first regional operation
Tarriela also linked Haiyang Dizhi Shihao to a previous operation in Indonesia’s North Natuna Sea.
According to his account, the vessel spent approximately seven weeks surveying inside Indonesia’s EEZ in 2021 and was accompanied by China Coast Guard vessels during part of the operation.
That history adds another layer to Manila’s concern over the ship’s latest activity near Scarborough Shoal.
Beijing pushes back
The dispute has now escalated into a direct war of words.
The Chinese Embassy in Manila rejected Tarriela’s characterization of the vessel’s activities, saying the ship was conducting lawful research in what Beijing considers Chinese territory.
China also reiterated its longstanding claim over Scarborough Shoal and challenged the Philippine position.
This is a critical part of the story: Manila says the vessel was conducting unauthorized research inside Philippine maritime jurisdiction, while Beijing maintains that the waters are under Chinese sovereignty.
Why Panatag Shoal matters
Scarborough Shoal has remained one of the most sensitive flashpoints in the South China Sea.
The Philippines considers Bajo de Masinloc part of its maritime territory and asserts sovereign rights in its EEZ under international law. The 2016 South China Sea arbitral ruling also rejected the legal basis of China’s expansive nine-dash-line claims and determined that Scarborough Shoal is a rock entitled to a 12-nautical-mile territorial sea. China has rejected the ruling.
The shoal has been under de facto Chinese control since the 2012 standoff between Manila and Beijing, making virtually every new Chinese maritime deployment there politically and strategically significant.
Earlier this year, Philippine authorities also discovered a floating structure at the shoal that prompted Manila to lodge a diplomatic protest with Beijing. The structure was later removed.
The bigger question
The immediate issue is not simply that a Chinese research vessel entered the Philippine EEZ.
The bigger question is what information a drilling-capable survey ship may have been collecting during an extended operation around one of the most strategically sensitive locations in the West Philippine Sea.
For now, the Philippine Coast Guard has publicly identified the vessel’s movements and capabilities, but there is no publicly available evidence establishing the precise purpose or findings of its reported survey activity.
That leaves one question hanging over the latest incident:
What exactly was China studying beneath the waters of Panatag Shoal?
WWC ONE MEDIA M.J.E
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