WHAT is Beijing up to?
After the Chinese Coast Guard and maritime militia kept harassing and intimidating our own Coast Guard and Navy within our Exclusive Economic Zone in the West Philippine Sea with deliberate ramming, military-grade laser beams and water cannons, the Chinese government appears to be stepping up intelligence gathering and espionage activities within our shores.
That’s the obvious conclusion from the recent recovery by some fisherfolk of an underwater drone with Chinese markings in the waters off San Pascual town in Masbate province.
The torpedo-shaped drone, spotted floating at sea, bore the markings “HY-119” and was described as about two meters long and equipped with fins, an antenna, and a visual lens.
While the drone was unarmed, its recovery raised concerns due to its potential use in intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) operations. Other devices, including Chinese buoys, have previously been retrieved in nearby waters off Catanduanes.
The news report quoted an oceanographer and professor at the University of the Philippines Diliman-Marine Science Institute as saying it would be difficult to tell whether a particular drone was used for military surveillance or research until “the type of data it had collected (had been) accessed. Both objectives (ocean research and surveillance) may use the same technologies.”
Open-source research on the Internet by the Police Regional Office Region 5 showed that HY-119 is a Chinese underwater navigation and communication system designed for monitoring and reconnaissance activities.
The discovery of the underwater drone is alarming as it comes amid ongoing maritime tensions between the Philippines and China over contested territories in the West Philippine Sea.
It is true, as the police office in the Bicol region said, the recovery of the underwater drone has significant implications, as it provides insights into advanced underwater technology and naval capabilities.
Authorities are closely examining the device as to its origin and to assess its potential impact on national security and maritime operations.
On the part of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, it declared its full commitment “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.”
The discovery of the Chinese underwater drone is disturbing as it could indicate Beijing’s deliberate intrusion in Philippine waters and pose a grave threat to our national sovereignty.
In recent years, Chinese research vessels had been spotted in the eastern side of the Philippines, including waters near the resource-rich Philippine (formerly Benham) Rise.
In April 2024, a Chinese-flagged research vessel was seen within the vicinity northeast of Viga in Catanduanes province.
In October last year, two Chinese fishing boats were also spotted off the coast of Casiguran town in Aurora province. These cannot be called “innocent passage” at all.
