PCG: China research vessel sailed near Luzon at 'suspicious' distance

February 13, 2025 | 11:09am

MANILA, Philippines — What was a Chinese research vessel doing so close to Luzon's coast this week? The Philippine Coast Guard's suspicion has been raised after the China vessel appeared to be "following the contour" of the Luzon coastline at a consistent distance of 24 to 25 nautical miles.  

While foreign vessels can traverse Philippine waters under international law, PCG spokesperson Jay Tarriela noted on Thursday, February 13, that Lan Hai 101's movement deviated from innocent passage.

Instead of taking a direct route, the ship — one of China's biggest research vessels — appeared to be "following" the Philippines' coastline while maintaining a "precise" distance.

Throughout its transit from Palawan to Mindoro until the Ilocos region, Lan Hai 101 was able to "follow the contour of this coastline" at 24 to 25 nautical miles, Tarriela said. 

"What is suspicious in the movement of the Chinese fisheries research vessel is that it maintains its approximate distance of 24 to 25 nautical miles average off the coast of the Luzon... For them to maintain such distance, they're precise in entering our contiguous zone," Tarriela said in mixed English and Filipino in an interview with Radyo 630.

At 24 to 25 nautical miles from shore, Lan Hai 101 was traversing just within the Philippines' contiguous zone – an area where the country has more limited enforcement powers compared to its territorial waters, which extend only up to 12 nautical miles from the coast. 

These waters fall within the Philippines' broader 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone.

"This may be speculative, but the mere fact that this is a Chinese research vessel, one will ask, why are they doing that?" Tarriela said.

The PCG spokesperson believes that if the vessel was merely passing through, it should have taken a direct path through Philippine waters.

"Why would [they] make an effort to do a contour of all this coastline?" Tarriela said. "It should be continuous and expeditious."

"There's really no question for us in the Philippines that this fisheries research is just a conundrum. It's just a conundrum," he added.

The Chinese vessel was first spotted Sunday in the waters east of Palawan. 

By Wednesday 7 a.m., the vessel had turned off its automatic identification system (AIS). It was last seen through the dark vessel detection system at about 62 nautical miles off Babuyan Island.

The PCG's concerns about Lan Hai 101's movements come as multiple Chinese vessels maintain their presence in the West Philippine Sea. Four China Coast Guard (CCG) ships are currently deployed in Scarborough Shoal, including the so-called "monster" CCG 5901, dubbed so for its imposing size.

Another CCG vessel is prowling the waters off Pangasinan.

The PCG said it continues to monitor these vessels while asserting Philippine sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea. Tarriela stressed that whenever CCG vessels attempt to get near Philippine coastlines, PCG vessels are deployed to highlight their illegal presence and violations of international law.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, including waters within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone, through its so-called nine-dash line. In 2016, an arbitral tribunal in The Hague invalidated Beijing's expansive claims, but China has refused to recognize the ruling.