Philippines Guides Chinese Research Vessel Out of EEZ, in Contrast to Australia and New Zealand

May 9, 2025 TruthUSA

The Philippine Coast Guard has removed a CCP research vessel from its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), contrasting with New Zealand, which welcomed one, and Australia, which overlooked it.

The Philippines has adopted a firmer stance regarding the entry of a CCP research vessel into its territorial waters in March this year, with its coastguard escorting the ship out of its EEZ.

The Tan Suo 3 was first spotted illegally engaging in marine scientific research approximately 92 nautical miles (nmi) (171 kilometers) off Burgos, Ilocos Norte, on May 1. It is suspected to have been conducting deep-sea mapping to bolster the People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) submarine activities.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) sent its lead patrol vessel, the BRP Teresa Magbanua, along with an aircraft to escort the CCP ship beyond the country’s 220-nautical-mile EEZ. The vessel left without incident and positioned itself 250 nmi away.

During its time in Philippine waters, the Tan Suo 3 deployed the Shenhai Yongshi, or Deep-Sea Warrior, a manned submersible vehicle designed for deep-sea exploration, capable of diving up to 4,500 meters.

The PCG retrieved an unidentified piece of yellow-coloured equipment, which they believe may be part of the tools used by the Chinese in their research endeavors.

The Tan Suo 3 leaves the Philippines' waters. Courtesy Philippines Coastguard. — The Tan Suo 3 leaves the Philippines’ waters. Courtesy Philippines Coastguard.

The Philippine’s swift and straightforward response to the presence of the CCP research vessel within its EEZ stands in stark contrast to New Zealand and Australia.

Earlier this year, in January, New Zealand’s National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research (NIWA) invited the Tan Suo Yi Hao to undertake “deep-sea exploration of marine biodiversity in New Zealand’s subantarctic waters” for a span of 56 days. It was the CCP’s second collaborative effort with New Zealand, employing its deep-sea manned submersible Fen Dou Zhe.

This expedition represented the inaugural exploration of the Puysegur Trench, an 800-kilometer (km) long, deep fissure in the ocean floor, where the Fen Dou Zhe achieved 32 dives to a depth of 6 km.

A spokesperson from NIWA noted that the involvement of the Tan Suo Ti Hao was crucial because “the Fen Dou Zhe is the only research-oriented submersible in the world currently able to dive to the ocean’s utmost depths (around 11,000 meters).”

“This expedition returned unprecedented footage of life in the Puysegur Trench, along with the first-ever biological specimens and images of the ocean floor,” the spokesperson shared with The Epoch Times.

During an event at the Chinese Embassy in Wellington, the CCP’s Ambassador Wang Xiaolong referred to the research as “a crown jewel of a mutually beneficial bilateral partnership.”

The Tan Suo Yi Hao. Photograph from the CCP Institute of Acoustics.

When approached by this newspaper regarding any defense and security implications of having a CCP ship conducting mapping operations in areas where submarines could potentially hide, New Zealand’s Defence Minister Judith Collins stated that the NZ Defence Force was aware of its location and activities, “as the Defence Force maintains maritime domain awareness of foreign vessels in our region.”

“Nonetheless, the NZDF did not actively monitor the vessel as it was authorized to be present in New Zealand and carry out operations here with NIWA.”

Collins refrained from disclosing whether New Zealand had informed Australia of the vessel’s presence before, during, or after it departed New Zealand’s territorial waters along Australia’s southern coastline.

This trajectory appeared to catch Australia unawares, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressing a “preference” that the ship had not undertaken that path, although he noted it had not violated any international laws.

The Australian Department of Defence dispatched a P-8A maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) to oversee the vessel’s activities.

In a statement, Chief of Joint Operations Vice Admiral Justin Jones noted that the Tan Suo Yi Hao entered Australia’s EEZ from the Tasman Sea on March 27 and moved through the Bass Strait from March 28 to 29, maintaining a steady course. The vessel then spent a period approximately 400 nautical miles (741 km) southeast of Perth.

The route back to China via Australia’s southern coast was not the most straightforward for the vessel, nor did the CCP offer any explanation for its repeated pauses, once for 12 hours and later for 17 hours, while off the Australian coast.

This led many observers to speculate that it had deployed the Fen Dou Zhe to explore and chart the Diamantina Trench, located between 550 and 630 nmi from Australia’s coast.

Ray Powell, a 35-year veteran of the US Air Force and currently a director at SeaLight and Project Lead at Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center, is one such observer.

He pointed out in a post on X that the Tan San Yi Hao had previously conducted similar missions, examining the Diamantina Trench from January 19 to February 21, 2023, also following a route after visiting New Zealand and traversing Australia’s southern coast.

A map of the path taken by the Tan Suo Yi Hao in 2023, when it repeatedly traversed the area of the Diamantina Trench after sailing past the southern coast of Australia. Courtesy Ray Powell/via Starboard_NZ

Powell highlighted that the ship is owned by China’s Institute of Acoustics, which has “deep PLA ties going back decades, as is clearly outlined on its own web page.” The Chinese version of the website also states that the institute “focuses on the strategic needs of China in the fields of ocean and security … over the next five to 10 years.”

The Chinese Academy of Sciences has signed co-operation agreements with the PLA.

What Does Sea Mapping Achieve?

Submarines depend on the ocean floor’s topology for navigation and concealment; hence understanding the seabed’s contours and materials is vital.

With plans for a new submarine base to be established in Perth as a strategic center for the AUKUS fleet operations in the southern hemisphere, there exist clear strategic advantages for the CCP if it can covertly surveil—and potentially react to—submarine maneuvers from a deep trench, which would evade detection by the U.S. and Australia.

The “most apparent” rationale for the CCP to undertake deep-sea research near Australia and New Zealand would be to facilitate its submarine force deployments, including those equipped with nuclear missiles, at “strategic deep-sea locations,” Powell concluded.

The activities of the research vessel took place mere weeks after a flotilla of three CCP warships traversed the Tasman Sea, moved across Australia’s southern coastline, and paused west of Perth, following a remarkably similar trajectory.

While in the southern Tasman, they conducted a live-fire exercise without prior notice to either Australia or New Zealand.

The Australian Department of Defence was approached by The Epoch Times for comments regarding any security threats posed by the Tan Suo Yi Hao’s activities along Australia’s coastline, whether New Zealand informed them about the ship’s presence in the South Pacific, and whether current counter-submarine technology could detect foreign submarines in the Diamantina Trench.

However, they declined to provide a comment.

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