Chinese research ship near the Batanes sparks undersea cable concerns in Manila
A Chinese civilian research vessel has spent more than a week conducting operations in waters off the Philippines’ Batanes Islands, an area that has become a new geopolitical battleground as Beijing ramps up pressure against Manila-Tokyo delimitation efforts. Data recorded via the vessel’s Automatic Identification System (AIS) for September, tracked by MarineTraffic, revealed that the Jia Hai Ke…
On September 19, a Chinese civilian research vessel named Jia Hai Ke 7 departed from Xiamen, located on China's southeastern coast. The vessel arrived near Itbayat in the province of Batanes, the Philippines, on September 22 and remained in the area until at least Tuesday. The Philippine coastguard confirmed the ship's presence on Monday.
Coastguard spokesman Jay Tarriela noted that the vessel was located approximately 38 nautical miles (70km) northwest of Itbayat and exhibited behavior inconsistent with innocent passage. Instead of maintaining a steady course and speed, the Jia Hai Ke 7 was observed loitering and holding its position in the same area – behavior typical of a vessel conducting marine scientific research (MSR) rather than transit.
The Batanes Islands, an archipelago situated between Taiwan and the northernmost tip of the Philippine island of Luzon, have become a geopolitical battleground as Beijing intensifies its pressure against Manila-Tokyo delimitation efforts. The presence of the Chinese research vessel near the Batanes Islands has raised concerns in Manila over critical subsea telecommunications cables that traverse the seabed of the Luzon Strait.
These cables connect Southeast Asia to North America and northeast Asia. Despite three radio challenges from Philippine aerial patrols demanding that the ship declare its mission and cease unauthorized surveys, the vessel did not respond. This deployment comes amid heightened friction over the Batanes Islands, with some Chinese scholars arguing that the islands are a natural geographical extension of Taiwan and thus fall under Chinese sovereignty.
However, this assertion is not officially endorsed by Beijing. The Chinese embassy in Manila defended the research vessel's presence, stating that it was operating within waters under Chinese jurisdiction. The state-run Global Times claimed that the Jia Hai Ke 7 was conducting "legitimate and lawful" offshore marine geological surveys and scientific investigations in waters under Chinese jurisdiction.
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
