Philippine coastguard challenges Chinese research ship near Batanes Islands - South China Morning Post

Alyssa ChenandFan ChenPublished: 12:00pm, 1 Oct 2026Updated: 5:31pm, 1 Oct 2026China and the Philippines have challenged each other in the waters off the Batanes Islands, an area that has become the latest maritime flashpoint as Beijing ramps up pressure against Manila-Tokyo delimitation efforts.The Philippine coastguard said on Thursday it had sent one of its biggest vessels and an aircraft to “disrupt and drive away” a Chinese research ship – the Jia Hai Ke 7 – which has been operating in the waters off the islands over the past several days.

“At 7.55am, BRP Teresa Magbanua closed in on Jia Hai Ke 7 to less than 100 yards (91 metres) and launched a rigid-hull inflatable boat to disrupt the research vessel’s illegal marine scientific research and compel it to leave the area,” coastguard spokesman Jay Tarriela said in post on social media.

The Jia Hai Ke 7 has spent more than a week conducting operations near the Philippines’ Batanes archipelago, located between the country’s Luzon island and Taiwan.