Key facts
- A Chinese research vessel, Jia Hai Ke 7, was detected near the Philippines' Batanes Islands.
- The vessel was confirmed to be falsifying its Automatic Identification System (AIS) data.
- The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) conducted a Maritime Domain Awareness flight to visually confirm the vessel.
- The Jia Hai Ke 7 did not respond to PCG radio challenges.
- The vessel's location is near critical undersea communication cable corridors.
- The PCG stated the vessel's movements were inconsistent with innocent passage.
A Chinese research vessel, the Jia Hai Ke 7, has been operating in waters near the Philippines' Batanes Islands for over a week, raising concerns about the security of critical undersea communication cables. The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) confirmed on Monday, September 28, 2026, that the vessel was falsifying its Automatic Identification System (AIS) data to conceal its true movements.
The PCG detected the vessel through its monitoring station in Itbayat, not through its own AIS broadcast. Verification using the Canada-provided Dark Vessel Detection system revealed a physically impossible AIS trail, indicating deliberate spoofing to avoid detection by Philippine authorities. The vessel reported departing Xiamen, China, on September 21 and then broadcasting from near Papua New Guinea, over 2,000 nautical miles away, before transmitting from its current location.
PCG aircraft visually confirmed the Jia Hai Ke 7 holding position approximately 38 nautical miles off Itbayat, a behavior inconsistent with innocent passage and indicative of marine scientific research. The vessel did not respond to multiple radio challenges from the PCG asserting Philippine sovereign rights.
The Jia Hai Ke 7 is described as a 2,000-ton, 70-meter vessel built for Zhuhai Jiahai Marine Technology Co., equipped with a dynamic positioning system for precise station-holding over the seabed for marine geological surveys. It has reportedly operated alongside seabed-drilling ships.
PCG spokesperson Rear Adm. Jay Tarriela stated that the waters off Batanes and the Luzon Strait host critical submarine cable corridors linking the Philippines to Northeast Asia and the wider Indo-Pacific. This presence raises concerns over the security of the country’s undersea communications infrastructure and the potential military use of data collected by the vessel. The PCG plans to continue tracking the ship and will take necessary measures under Philippine law and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to challenge and remove vessels conducting unauthorized activities.