The suspected China Coast Guard (CCG) ship that was allegedly seen in the municipal waters of San Narciso in Zambales earlier this week could be a case of AIS (Automatic Identification System) spoofing, a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) official said.
He said the CCG is engaging in AIS spoofing to “mislead the international community, confuse authorities, and instigate public concern.”
“The AIS spoofing has been the activity of the CCG for a very long time already. Ibig sabihin, there’s a possibility that these dredgers that are being used in Manila Bay are also being contacted by the CCG to do AIS spoofing for them,” the official said.
The AIS transmits a vessel’s position so that it can be identified and located by other ships.
“Last December 10, around 7 am, we received a report from an NGO, the Zambales Ecological Network, saying na meron daw CCG 21543 that is within the municipal waters of San Narciso,” Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, said.
The PCG immediately deployed BRP Teresa Magbanua to Zambales, ABS-CBN further reported.
Tarriela earlier said that while on its way to Zambales, the BRP Teresa Magbanua monitored five vessels through its AIS data records: the China Coast Guard 21543; China-flagged dredgers Yang Shong 699, An Da Kang 3689 and Hong Xia 668; and Sierra Leone-flagged dredger Sanko Uno 13.
However, when the PCG vessel reached the vicinity of where the CCG ship was allegedly seen—2.3 nautical miles west of San Narciso town—around 1 pm on Tuesday (December 10), only the three China-flagged dredgers were present.
Tarriela believes one of the dredgers manipulated its AIS data.
“There’s a very high possibility na isa sa tatlong dredgers na ito ang nagspoof ng data niya. We’re going to once again inspect these vessels, look at the data of their AIS whether they altered the information to do the spoofing for the CCG,” he said.
The PCG personnel boarded MV An Da Kang for inspection. The vessel was found to have Filipino and Chinese crew members, all with valid licenses. No irregularities were identified.
The PCG wasn’t able to board and inspect MV Yang Shong and MV Hong Xia.
The PCG also tried to track CCG 21543. The vessel appeared in Manila, Zambales, places in China, and suddenly in South Africa.
Analyzing its 60-day track, Tarriela said it is evident that CCG 21543 “could not realistically navigate those routes.”
The CCG could be exploiting the AIS signals of other vessels for its spoofing activities, he added.
“If we are going to look at the marine traffic, you can see the historical track ng 21543 for the past 60 days. Ang ginagawa ng CCG 21543 is ginagamit niya, kunwari isa siyang cargo vessel, ang historical track niya from China to Africa to WPS to Manila, it’s impossible for a vessel to complete this long track for the past 60 days. Ibig sabihin, there are instances wherein the Chinese government is relying on dredgers and other China-flagged vessels to spoof their AIS data to carry a record of a CCGV,” Tarriela explained.
He added, “These are detainable offenses. It’s for the PCG to intensify itong inspection not just for these three vessels, but also for other dredgers na nag-ooperate sa Manila Bay kung inaalter nila ang AIS data nila.”
“The PCG has the authority to board and inspect all these dredger vessels… If it’s a foreign-flagged vessel, we are going to carry out port state control inspection. If it’s registered as Philippines through Marina, we are going to carry out flag state inspection,” he further said.
Tarriela said the CCG’s actions show a disregard for the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), especially the mandatory AIS requirement for certain vessels.
