Philippine Coast Guard Exposes Chinese Research Vessel Spoofing AIS Near Northern Cable

The Philippine Coast Guard caught a Chinese research vessel broadcasting false AIS positions while sitting in Philippine waters north of the country, PCG reported on September 28.

JIA HAI KE 7, a 2,000-tonne Chinese research vessel registered to Zhuhai Jiahai Marine Technology Co., was spotted by PCG aircraft roughly 38 nautical miles northwest of Itbayat, Batanes, during a maritime domain awareness flight. Radio challenges were repeated but the vessel did not respond.

What gave it away was the AIS trail. The broadcast coordinates showed the vessel departing Xiamen on September 21, then appearing in Papua New Guinea, more than 2,000 nautical miles away, on the same day, before showing up near Itbayat by September 28. The movements were physically impossible.

PCG used a Dark Vessel Detection system supplied by Canada to confirm the discrepancy. Rear Adm. Jay Tarriela said the data pointed to unauthorized marine scientific research rather than innocent passage.

The waters above Batanes run along submarine cable corridors linking the Philippines with Northeast Asia. PCG has been active in this stretch after an escalating series of confrontations with Chinese vessels in the region. In September, the Chinese Coast Guard rammed a Philippine fishery vessel near Sabina Shoal in a separate incident that also drew official protests.

No boarding took place. The Chinese Embassy in Manila had not responded to requests for comment as of the time of reporting.