The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) repelled a Chinese research vessel (CRV) found within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Reports on Monday said the Chinese vessel was observed entering the Philippine EEZ approximately 92 nautical miles off the coast of Burgos, Ilocos Norte on May 1.
The PCG deployed BRP Teresa Magbanua and an aircraft to monitor and conduct a radio challenge on the foreign ship identified as Tan Suo 3.
“Upon the arrival of the PCG vessel at the location of the Chinese Research Vessel, the PCG aircraft launched from Laoag to support the maritime law enforcement operation, conducting maritime domain awareness (MDA) flight in the area,” the Coast Guard said in a statement.
Amid the operation, the PCG also said it spotted a submersible vessel engineered for deep-sea exploration, including a rigid hull inflatable boat, heading towards the Chinese vessel. It appeared China was conducting “illegal marine scientific research activities.”
As this developed, Retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio on Monday called on President Marcos to authorize the filing of a new arbitration case regarding the Philippines’ extended continental shelf (ECS) beyond the Spratly Islands.
This was in response to recent disputes with Vietnam and China over Sandy Cay, a cluster of sandbars located near Pag-asa Island within its 22-kilometer territorial sea.
Over the weekend, Hanoi protested claims by Beijing and Manila after the two countries traded barbs when Chinese state media reported that it had taken over the sandbars near Pag-asa (Thitu) Island in the West Philippine Sea—a claim later refuted by Philippine security officials.
According to Carpio, Vietnam and China are asserting claims over Sandy Cay as part of their broader claims to sovereignty over the entire Spratly Islands, including Pag-asa.
The Philippines, however, claims approximately 95 percent of the Spratly Islands, with Sandy Cay falling within the territorial sea of Pag-asa.
Carpio referenced an informal agreement among claimant states in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to refrain from encroaching on geologic features already occupied by other Southeast Asian countries.
This agreement respects each nation’s control while maintaining their respective sovereignty claims.
But while Vietnam and Malaysia prefer to keep their maritime disputes with China “low profile” due to strong economic ties with the latter, Carpio said the Philippines had been “the most vocal” in asserting its entitlements.
He said Marcos, nearly halfway through his term, should authorize a second arbitration case over the Philippines’ ECS beyond the Spratly Islands if he wanted to leave a lasting legacy on the West Philippine Sea issue.
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) defines a continental shelf as the submerged extension of a coastal state’s land territory, covering the seabed and subsoil beyond its territorial sea, up to the edge of its 370-km (200-nautical-mile) exclusive economic zone.
“We have to file the claim now before…China becomes stronger and China might enter into agreements with the US that will prejudice us, so we have to file it now,” Carpio said.