Jamaine Punzalan

Article (news)

Bianca Dava

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA &mdash; The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Friday said a Chinese research vessel has been operating inside the Philippines&rsquo; exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and has spent over three weeks within the 12-nautical-mile territorial sea of Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal.</p><p>PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Rear Admiral Jay Tarriela said the Haiyang Dizhi Shihao departed Guangdong, China on August 3, entered the Philippine EEZ on August 10, and reached the vicinity of Bajo de Masinloc on August 11.</p><p>&ldquo;From August 11 until today, ito ay nasa vicinity ng Bajo de Masinloc. And while it is conducting an illegal MSR [marine scientific research] within the vicinity of Bajo de Masinloc, we were able to record as many as three weeks na nag-stay siya sa loob ng territorial sea ng Bajo de Masinloc,&rdquo; Tarriela told reporters in an interview in Manila.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/8/24/chinese-embassy-pcg-official-clash-online-over-maritime-claims-0956">Chinese Embassy, PCG official clash online over maritime claims</a></div><p>According to Tarriela, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed that no permit or authority was issued to China to conduct marine scientific research in the area.</p><p>&ldquo;We are very positive that what they&rsquo;re doing in Bajo de Masinloc and in our exclusive economic zone is an illegal MSR without the consent of the Philippine government,&rdquo; he said.</p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 441px; height: 710px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2095731197934764377&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Aod2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2026-09-04T07%3A09%3A37.474939%3A86e7ec53-610d-44fe-ac0e-06ff43c63299%26action%3Dedit&sessionId=93e3fac0140bfb620cd23c7509aa251d4710e57f&theme=light&widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&width=550px" data-tweet-id="2095731197934764377"></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><div><br></div><div><strong>DRILLING-CAPABLE VESSEL</strong></div><div><br></div><p>The 76-meter Chinese vessel is capable of seabed drilling.</p><p>Tarriela said the vessel drilled as deep as 302 meters in the South China Sea in 2023. It also conducted marine scientific research near Indonesia&rsquo;s Natuna Islands for seven weeks in 2021.</p><p>&ldquo;Kung magko-coring ka, magdi-drilling ka, ibig sabihin, you really wanted to investigate kung ano ang nasa ilalim ng seabed natin,&rdquo; he noted.</p><p>However, the PCG has yet to confirm whether the vessel has actually conducted drilling in Bajo de Masinloc.</p><p>&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t know yet whether a drilling was already conducted or it&rsquo;s being conducted. But what we can only assume is that the movement of the vessel and the slow speed na ginagawa niya is that an MSR is being conducted,&rdquo; Tarriela said.</p><p>The official stressed that the vessel&rsquo;s movements&mdash;particularly its slow speed, measured distances and formations&mdash;give the PCG confidence that it was conducting marine scientific research.</p><p>&ldquo;Hindi ka naman tatagal ng more than 25 days sa area na &lsquo;to na ang mga movement mo ay may sukat, may distansya, and it forms a certain formation,&rdquo; he added.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/8/30/china-laying-groundwork-for-scarborough-shoal-takeover-possible-batanes-claim-says-ex-us-officer-1605">China laying groundwork for Scarborough Shoal takeover, possible Batanes claim &mdash; ex-US officer</a></div><div><br></div><div><strong>BAD WEATHER HAMPERS PCG MONITORING</strong></div><div><br></div><p>Tarriela said <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/weather">unfavorable weather conditions</a> over the past weeks prevented the PCG from deploying an aircraft to challenge the Chinese vessel.</p><p>Despite this, the PCG has continued tracking the vessel through Canada&rsquo;s Dark Vessel Detection (DVD) program.</p><p>Tarriela said China could have taken advantage of the poor weather conditions to carry out the unauthorized activity, which was &ldquo;alarming.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;Tini-take advantage ng China ang pangit na panahon for us to be prevented from sending our aircraft and even our vessels to challenge the illegal MSR,&rdquo; the official said.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s alarming because they are violating our sovereign rights dahil ito ay nasa exclusive economic zone, and even our sovereignty because it also entered the territorial waters of Bajo de Masinloc,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;</p><p>The PCG said it was hoping for better weather in the coming days so it could conduct maritime domain awareness (MDA) flights and deploy PCG vessels to challenge and intercept the research vessel.</p><p>&ldquo;[We want to] have very tangible evidence that what they&#39;re doing is an illegal MSR. And from there, we&#39;re going to report this to the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS),&rdquo; Tarriela said.</p><p>&ldquo;The concerned government agencies can take action after that. Whether the Department of Foreign Affairs would see it fit to file a diplomatic protest, it&#39;s up to the DFA. For us, we&#39;re just going to provide the details and the evidence kung ano man ang mga violations ng People&#39;s Republic of China,&rdquo; he added.</p><p>Tarriela said the Haiyang Dizhi Shihao was also monitored in northern Philippine waters and near Philippine (Benham) Rise in 2024, but noted that this is the vessel&rsquo;s first documented presence in the vicinity of Bajo de Masinloc.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/9/1/afp-monitors-56-chinese-coast-guard-naval-vessels-in-west-ph-sea-in-august-1332">AFP monitors 56 Chinese coast guard, naval vessels in West PH Sea in August</a><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2026/9/1/china-taiwan-friction-clouds-pacific-summit-1926"></a><br><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2026/9/1/china-taiwan-friction-clouds-pacific-summit-1926">China-Taiwan friction clouds Pacific summit</a><br><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/8/31/marcos-jr-highlights-fight-for-west-philippine-sea-on-national-heroes-day-1231">&#39;Karapat-dapat na ipaglaban&#39;: Marcos Jr. highlights fight for WPS on National Heroes Day</a></div>

<p>The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Friday said a Chinese research vessel has been operating inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and has spent over three weeks within the 12-nautical-mile territorial sea of Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal. </p>

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Friday said a Chinese research vessel has been operating inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and has spent over three weeks within the 12-nautical-mile territorial sea of Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal.

Chinese drilling-capable research vessel operating in Bajo de Masinloc for 25 days now — PCG

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Chinese drilling-capable research vessel operating in Bajo de Masinloc for 25 days now — PCG

Bianca Dava,

ABS-CBN News

Published September 04, 2026 02:17 PM PHT

Read More:

Chinese survey vessel

drilling-capable

Bajo de Masinloc

Scarborough Shoal

West Philippine Sea

Philippine Coast Guard

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