Philippines Scrambles Forces to Expel Chinese Research Vessels

(MENAFN) The Philippines announced Sunday it is mobilizing aircraft and naval vessels to intercept and expel Chinese research ships accused of conducting unauthorized scientific operations in contested waters — marking a fresh escalation in the long-running territorial dispute across the South China Sea.

The deployment was triggered after the Philippine Coast Guard detected four Chinese research vessels operating near Philippine waters, according to local English-language daily Philstar.

Philippine Coast Guard commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan issued an unambiguous warning to Beijing, declaring: "We will not tolerate any illegal marine scientific research conducted without our government's consent. We are deploying aircraft and vessels to challenge and drive away these unauthorized vessels to protect Philippine sovereignty and sovereign rights."

The confrontation, however, is not unfolding as a one-sided affair. A Chinese state-run news agency reported Sunday that "five Philippine crew members illegally landed on Tiexian Jiao of China's Nansha Qundao, in disregard of the Chinese side's repeated dissuasion and warnings," citing its own sources — offering a sharply divergent account of events on the water.

The news agency added that China Coast Guard law enforcement officers "identified the intruders and handled the incident in accordance with the law, effectively safeguarding China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests."

The reference to "Nansha Qundao" reflects Beijing's official designation for what the international community widely recognizes as the Spratly Islands — an archipelago at the heart of overlapping territorial claims in the South China Sea.

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