Chinese research ship near the Batanes sparks undersea cable concerns in Manila

AI Summary

A Chinese civilian research vessel has spent more than a week operating near the Philippines’ Batanes Islands, prompting concern in Manila about undersea cables. The vessel’s AIS data reportedly show it departed Xiamen on September 19 and reached waters near Batanes amid rising geopolitical friction over maritime boundaries.

A Chinese civilian research vessel has spent more than a week conducting operations in waters off the Philippines’ Batanes Islands, an area that has become a new geopolitical battleground as Beijing ramps up pressure against Manila-Tokyo delimitation efforts. Data recorded via the vessel’s Automatic Identification System (AIS) for September, tracked by MarineTraffic, revealed that the Jia Hai Ke 7 research ship departed from Xiamen on China’s southeastern coast on September 19, arrived near...