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“For them, it is a means to expand their power,” Professor Jay Batongbacal, director of the Institute of Maritime Law and Affairs (University of the Philippines), said in an online forum on October 21, according to the report. Philippine daily inquirer.
Mr. Batongbacal said it is of concern to the Philippines in the context of China conducting marine scientific research activities in the Western Philippine Sea, waters claimed by Manila in the South China Sea.
The Philippine government has long spoken out against China sending warships and maritime militias into the Western Philippine Sea, but it rarely publicly opposed Chinese inspection vessels operating in the region, according to Philippine daily inquirer.
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At least 15 Chinese research vessels were found loitering in so-called Philippine waters in 2019, according to Philippine daily inquirer citing a report from the Philippine Department of Defense.
In 2018, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte banned all investigative activities carried out by foreign ships in the so-called waters, but China ignored the ban, according to Batongbacal. He argued that the Chinese ships conducted the MSR in the so-called exclusive economic zone of the Philippines without the consent of Manila.
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