The Philippines has deployed a coastguard vessel and an aircraft to challenge and escort a Chinese research ship it said was conducting illegal marine scientific research activities within the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
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The Chinese Research Vessel (CRV) Tan Suo 3 was detected entering the country’s EEZ last Thursday, around 92 nautical miles off the Philippines’ northern Ilocos coast, the Philippines coastguard said in a statement on Monday.
“Their irregular movements were deemed inconsistent with the freedom of navigation and indicative of marine scientific research activities, which violate the sovereign rights of the Philippines,” the statement said.
It said it launched a maritime law enforcement operation to challenge the Chinese vessel’s presence, and had prevented the vessel from continuing its “unlawful activities”.
During the operation, the coastguard reported spotting a manned deep-sea submersible, named the Shenhai Yongshi or Deep-Sea Warrior, which was retrieved by the Chinese vessel.
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The submersible is capable of diving to 4,500 metres (2.8 miles) and is typically deployed for deep-sea exploration and scientific missions, the coastguard said.