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Philippines Tracks Increasing Number of Chinese Research Vessels

Chinese research vessel
Chinese research vessel Xiang Yang Hong 05 being tracked in Philippine waters (PCG)

Published Aug 4, 2025 2:43 PM by The Maritime Executive


The Philippines Coast Guard is currently tracking the latest incursion by a Chinese research vessel into its waters, while reporting that the number of these events is increasing. The vessels are being tracked and challenged by air and sea, but unlike at the shoals, there have been no direct confrontations between the two countries.

The latest incident is ongoing with the Chinese research vessel Xiang Yang Hong 05, which China reports is conducting marine scientific research.  The Philippines Coast Guard says that the Xiang Yang Hong 05 is a relatively new addition to China’s fleet of research vessels, having been converted from a cargo ship. Historically, the PCG says the Xiang Yang Hong series has been associated with supporting the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) operations, dating back to the original vessels that participated in distant-water research and ballistic missile trials during the 1970s and 1980s.

The vessel briefly entered a region the Philippines calls the West Philippine Sea on June 7 and was in the area for two days. Based on tracking data, the Philippines says the ship spent 22 days operating on a parallel track in the Pacific that took it to a point about 42 nautical miles from Guam.

The ship re-entered the Philippines EEZ on July 31, and Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan, Commandant of the Philippine Coast Guard, ordered an aircraft to undertake a patrol mission over the weekend. They spotted the Xiang Yang Hong 05 at a distance of just under 15 nautical miles offshore from Babuyan Island. The plane sent messages to the Chinese vessel saying it was without authorization in the Philippines' waters, and there was no response. The Chinese vessel’s last reported position is 86 miles from Calayan Island at the northern end of the Philippines.

 

 

A spokesperson for the Philippine Coast Guard said during a television interview that they were seeing a “significant increase” of Chinese research ships within the Philippine EEZ. He noted three other instances in July and said that with three or four reports a month, the Philippines could be seeing almost 20 to 22 incursions by Chinese vessels in total this year. He called the significant increase “alarming.”

In July, they reported that the Bei Diao 996, a civilian research vessel with dual-use capabilities, specializing in testing underwater acoustic sensors and sonar equipment, was spotted. The Philippines reports that it is China's largest test ship for deep-sea operations, and it was followed by the Xiang Yang Hong 10, a multi-purpose research vessel capable of deep-sea surveys for sea floor mapping. Also, the Zhuhai Yun, used for oceanographic research, was spotted in the Philippine EEZ.

Separately today, the Philippine Coast Guard reported two Chinese coast guard vessels were spotted in the area of Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island to the Philippines), about 39 miles from the Philippine coast. They sent their most sophisticated patrol vessel, BRP Teresa Magbanua, and it challenged the CCG-503 via radio communications. The Chinese responded, saying that the Philippines was in a Chinese jurisdiction zone. A second vessel, CCG-4203, was also spotted, but there was no confrontation between the Chinese and Philippine vessels.