Experts warn of Beijing’s interest in PH internal waters
A submarine drone suspected to be from China was recovered in internal waters off Masbate, police said on Thursday, warning of “potential national security implications.”
Three fishermen found the torpedo-shaped drone, marked “HY-119” and measuring two meters long with fins, around nine kilometers off the coast of San Pascual in Masbate on Monday.
Region 5 police director Brig. Gen. Andre Dizon said: “Based on our open-source research on the internet… HY-119 refers to a Chinese underwater navigation and communication system.”
“It has an antenna and an eye that can be used for viewing. Based on our research, this can be used for monitoring and reconnaissance,” Dizon added.
Sealight director and retired US Air Force officer Ray Powell said the drone might have been conducting seabed mapping for future submarine deployments.
“If this is a Chinese drone, as seems likely, it indicates a troubling level of Chinese interest in the Philippines’ internal archipelagic waters,” Powell said.
“[It] could mean that China intends to deploy submarines into Philippine waters, or perhaps wants to have that option, if conflict breaks out. Regardless, this incident highlights the importance for a maritime nation to develop a high level of undersea domain awareness,” he added.
National security expert Dr. Chester Cabalza underscored the strategic importance of Masbate, which lies between Luzon and Visayas, and is near key areas like the West Philippine Sea (WPS) and Benham Rise.
“The artifacts of drones in the underwater shores of Masbate signal that the Chinese can enter our internal waters compromising our sovereignty and territorial integrity in the midsection of the archipelagic Philippines,” Cabalza told the Manila Standard.
Dizon said the drone was not armed, but the police report listed “potential national security implications” as one significance of its recovery.
“The system’s advanced capabilities suggest applications in submarine communication, underwater surveillance, oceanographic research, and naval operations. It likely utilizes secure encryption methods, frequency hopping, and low probability of intercept technology to avoid detection,” Dizon said.
It was turned over by police to the Philippine Navy on Tuesday, Dizon said.
Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson Col. Xerxes Trinidad said the Philippine Navy is now investigating the drone recovery “to determine its origin and purpose.”
“The AFP is fully committed to ensuring the safety and security of our maritime domain, with all necessary resources mobilized to address similar and other situations with the utmost diligence,” he said.
For his part, Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers said with the recovery of the underwater drone, it is not far-fetched that China has long been conducting in-depth intel gathering inside Philippine waters, possibly including data about deuterium.
Deuterium is widely used in prototype fusion reactors and has their application in military, industrial and scientific fields. In nuclear fusion reactors, it is used as a tracer and it is responsible for slowing down neutrons in heavy water moderated fission reactors.
“With the growing global race to find renewal sources of fuel or energy like deuterium, which reportedly is found abundant in the deep seas in the country’s eastern seaboard, it is not far-fetched that China also wanted to get a hand on it,” Barbers said.
He likewise renewed his call for the establishment of a naval facility in Surigao del Norte to protect the country’s eastern seaboard from smugglers and foreign intruders under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) between the Philippines and the United States.
Barbers made the appeal before Defense Department officials following reports that the latter is considering setting up a naval facility inside the Phividec Industrial Authority business complex in Misamis Oriental.
“While I do not question the logic and wisdom behind the plan to put up an EDCA naval site inside the Phividec facility, I think it would be prudent for us not to inter-mix the business complex with a military complex,” Barbers said.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline: “Philippines recovers suspected Chinese submarine drone”
