Philippine Senate urged to investigate suspected Chinese submersible drone

A PHILIPPINE senator on Monday filed a resolution seeking a probe into an underwater drone with Chinese markings recovered in the waters of San Pascual, Masbate province on Dec. 30, citing risks to national security and concerns over espionage.

In Senate Resolution No. 1267, Senate Majority Floor Leader Francis N. Tolentino called on the Senate to look into the six-foot drone, saying its presence raises “critical concerns” on Manila’s territorial integrity and national security.

“It is crucial to ascertain whether the drone’s presence constitutes a violation of Philippine laws, considering its discovery inside our archipelagic waters over which the Philippine has sovereignty,” according to a copy of the resolution.

The drone is likely a Chinese underwater navigation and communication system, the lawmaker said, citing initial investigation by the Philippine National Police.

The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately reply to a Viber message seeking comment.

In a statement on Jan. 3 Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Xerxes A. Trinidad said police had turned over the remotely operated submersible drone to the military for further investigation.

China and the Philippines have been at loggerheads over disputed features in the South China Sea, with Manila accusing China’s coast guard of aggression and Beijing furious over what it calls repeated provocations and territorial incursions.

Beijing asserts its claim of sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea through an armada of coast guard ships, some of which are accused by its neighbors of aggressive conduct and of trying to disrupt energy and fishery activity in their exclusive economic zones (EEZ).

Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, the Philippines and Vietnam all claim parts of the sea.

EEZs extend 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from a country’s coast and give it sovereign rights to explore and exploit the natural resources in the water and on the ocean floor.

The United Nations-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague in 2016 voided China’s claim over the waterway for being illegal. Beijing has ignored the ruling.

“There is an urgency in determining the drone’s origins and its compliance with Philippine maritime laws as its presence raises critical concerns regarding its origin and implications on our country’s territorial and national security,” Mr. Tolentino said.

Citing the Philippine Maritime Zones Act, which President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. signed into law in November, the senator said foreign vessels do not have navigational rights in Philippine waters unless authorized by the government.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry in December urged the Philippines to return to “peaceful development” amid Manila’s plan to acquire the US’ mid-range Typhon missile system, which Beijing said could fuel an arms race in the region.

Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Gerardo C. Teodoro, Jr. earlier said Manila would not become a “doorstep” and that acquiring the missile system was within the country’s prerogative to enhance its defense capabilities.

The missile system is a land-based, ground-launched system that can fire the Standard Missile 6 (SM-6) and the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile, according to the US Army Pacific.

It also has a battery operation center, four launchers, prime movers and modified trailers. China and Russia have criticized the move to keep the system in the Philippines, saying it could fuel an arms race in the region.

“If proven that the discovered submersible drone was used by a foreign state to conduct underwent surveillance, be it for military or as part marine scientific research without the consent of the Republic of the Philippines, the same constitutes a violation of our sovereignty,” Mr. Tolentino said in the Senate resolution. — John Victor D. Ordoñez