Philippines rejects China's sovereign rights claim over waters near Batanes

October 2, 2026 at 03:10 PM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

The Philippines rejected China's claim to sovereign rights over waters off Batanes province on October 2, 2026. The Philippine Coast Guard drove away a Chinese research vessel from the area a day earlier. China's embassy in Manila insisted the vessel was operating in waters under its jurisdiction.

Key Facts

The Philippine Coast Guard deployed its largest vessel and an aircraft to challenge the Chinese research vessel Jia Ha Ke 7, which had been loitering 37 nautical miles northwest of Batanes for four days.
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said the Chinese vessel was operating within the Philippines' 200-nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone, where marine scientific research requires coastal state consent under UNCLOS.
China's embassy in Manila claimed the research vessel was conducting normal operations in waters under China's jurisdiction and urged the Philippines to cease provocative interference.
The confrontation marks a new front in the maritime dispute between Beijing and Manila, previously focused on Scarborough Shoal and the Spratly Islands.

The Confrontation

The Philippine Coast Guard said it deployed its largest vessel and an aircraft to challenge the Jia Ha Ke 7, a Chinese research ship that had been loitering around 37 nautical miles northwest of Batanes for four days. During the confrontation, a China Coast Guard vessel repeatedly tried to shield the research vessel and block the Philippine ship, according to PCG spokesperson Jay Tarriela. The Philippine operation successfully disrupted the unauthorized marine scientific research and compelled the Jia Ha Ke 7 to leave its position off Itbayat, Batanes.

Diplomatic Exchange

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs firmly and strongly rejected China's claims of sovereignty over the waters around Batanes, a group of islands midway between Taiwan and Luzon. The DFA argued that the Chinese research vessel was operating within the Philippines' 200-nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone, where marine scientific research can only be conducted with the consent of the coastal state under UNCLOS. China's embassy in Manila responded that the research vessel was conducting normal operations in waters under China's jurisdiction in accordance with international law. The embassy urged the Philippines to genuinely respect China's sovereign rights and jurisdiction and to cease provocative interference with China's normal scientific research activities.

New Maritime Front

The Chinese activities around Batanes represent the opening of a new front in the maritime struggle between Beijing and Manila. The dispute has previously manifested at Scarborough Shoal and various parts of the Spratly Islands. In late June, Chinese scholars at a symposium at Jinan University in Guangzhou argued that China enjoyed sovereignty over Batanes.