Philippines Drives Away Chinese Research Ship in Waters Near Taiwan

The Philippines deployed its largest Coast Guard vessel and an aircraft to drive a Chinese research ship out of waters off Batanes, near Taiwan, on Oct. 1.

Batanes is the Philippines’ northernmost province, a group of islands in the Luzon Strait between the main Philippine island of Luzon and Taiwan. Itbayat is one of the province’s main islands.

The Chinese research ship JIA HAI KE 7 had remained about 38 nautical miles northwest of Itbayat for four days, according to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

The Coast Guard said the ship was conducting marine scientific research inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) without Manila’s permission.

Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, foreign vessels must obtain a nation’s consent to conduct research within its 200-nautical-mile EEZ.

Around 7:55 a.m., the BRP Teresa Magbanua closed to within 100 yards of the Chinese vessel and launched a small boat to circle it.

The PCG said the research ship repeatedly maneuvered away while the Philippine vessel challenged it by radio. A PCG aircraft also flew over the area.

Chinese Coast Guard Moves In

During the operation, the PCG said a Chinese Coast Guard vessel “abruptly” arrived and moved toward the Teresa Magbanua, issuing its own radio challenges.

The PCG said the Chinese Coast Guard vessel repeatedly tried to shield JIA HAI KE 7 and block the Philippine vessel. Despite those maneuvers, the Teresa Magbanua later came within about 50 yards of the research ship.

“A government law enforcement ship moving to shield a supposedly private research vessel conducting illegal [marine scientific research] in another country’s EEZ raises serious questions about who JIA HAI KE 7 is really working for,” he said.

Tarriela also questioned what information the vessel may have gathered during its four days in the area.

The Luzon Strait contains undersea fiber-optic cables that carry internet and other communications between countries. The PCG on Sept. 28 raised concerns about JIA HAI KE 7 operating near those cable routes.

At 11:42 a.m., JIA HAI KE 7 left the position it had held for four days and began moving north at about 4.6 knots, according to the PCG.

The Teresa Magbanua continued monitoring the vessel until it left the Philippine EEZ, Tarriela said.

PCG DISRUPTS AND DRIVES AWAY CHINESE RESEARCH VESSEL JIA HAI KE 7 FROM ITS LOITERING POSITION OFF BATANES DESPITE CHINA COAST GUARD SHIELDING

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) successfully disrupted the unauthorized marine scientific research (MSR) of the Chinese research vessel… pic.twitter.com/jSxBUbtSkb

— Jay Tarriela (@jaytaryela) October 1, 2026

Ship Sent False Location Signals

The latest confrontation follows several days of concern over the Chinese research ship’s movements.

On Sept. 28, the Philippine Coast Guard said it found JIA HAI KE 7 near Batanes even though the vessel had been sending false electronic location signals.

At one point, the ship’s tracking signal appeared to place it near Papua New Guinea less than a day after it reported leaving Xiamen, China. The two locations are more than 2,000 nautical miles apart, a distance the vessel could not have traveled in that time.

The PCG said a Canada-provided monitoring system helped it check the ship’s reported movements and found that the route could not have happened as reported. The Coast Guard assessed that JIA HAI KE 7 had deliberately sent a false location to hide its movements.

China disputed the Philippine account.

The Chinese Embassy in Manila said on Sept. 28 the vessel was operating in waters under Chinese jurisdiction and called on the Philippines to stop interfering with what it described as China’s “normal navigation and scientific research activities.”

Tarriela rejected China’s claim on the same day, saying JIA HAI KE 7 had been operating inside the Philippine EEZ northwest of Itbayat.