The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) deployed BRP Teresa Magbanua (MRRV-9701) and the PCG Islander aircraft (tail number 251) this morning, 01 October 2026, to challenge the Chinese research vessel JIA HAI KE 7, disrupt its activities, and drive it away from Philippine waters. The vessel has been loitering inside the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), about 37 nautical miles northwest of Itbayat, Batanes, since the PCG first confirmed its presence on 28 September.
At 7:55 AM, BRP Teresa Magbanua closed in on JIA HAI KE 7 to less than 100 yards and launched a rigid-hull inflatable boat (RHIB) to disrupt the research vessel’s illegal marine scientific research (MSR) and compel it to leave the area. The RHIB circled JIA HAI KE 7 several times, keeping close pressure on the research vessel. JIA HAI KE 7 repeatedly maneuvered to evade the PCG units, while BRP Teresa Magbanua issued continuous radio challenges.
During the operation, China Coast Guard vessel CCG-2503 abruptly arrived in the vicinity. It moved toward BRP Teresa Magbanua and issued repeated radio challenges. BRP Teresa Magbanua, in turn, shadowed the CCG vessel at about 1,000 yards while remaining close to the research vessel.
The involvement of a China Coast Guard vessel is significant because JIA HAI KE 7 is privately owned. A government law enforcement ship moving to shield a supposedly private research vessel conducting illegal MSR in another country’s EEZ raises serious questions about who JIA HAI KE 7 is really working for. It also raises questions about what data the vessel has collected over the country’s undersea cable corridors in the Luzon Strait over the past four days.
It is worth noting that JIA HAI KE 7 has not moved away from the area since the PCG discovered its presence on Monday, 28 September. A vessel exercising innocent passage or freedom of navigation would proceed on its course. JIA HAI KE 7 has instead held its position in the same waters for four days, which is a clear indication that it is conducting MSR.
PCG Commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan also deployed PCG Islander 251, which took off from Basco Airport to conduct a Maritime Domain Awareness flight over the area. Upon arrival, the aircraft circled the vicinity several times at low altitude in support of BRP Teresa Magbanua.
As of 11:00 AM today, BRP Teresa Magbanua remains about 37 nautical miles northwest of Itbayat. It continues to circle JIA HAI KE 7 at about 500 yards to maintain PCG presence in the area, disrupt the vessel’s illegal MSR, and drive it out of the Philippine EEZ.
Under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Philippine Maritime Zones Act, no foreign vessel may conduct marine scientific research in the Philippine EEZ without the express consent of the Philippine government. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has confirmed that no such consent was given to JIA HAI KE 7. The PCG will continue to challenge, disrupt, and drive away the vessel until it leaves Philippine waters.
This operation is in accordance with the guidance of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to protect the country’s maritime domain and not to tolerate any unauthorized foreign research within Philippine waters.
