The Philippine Coast Guard has taken custody of an alleged Chinese underwater drone that was recently recovered by local fishermen in the waters off Palawan province in the Western Philippines.
On Sunday, September 28, fishermen from Palawan's Linapacan municipality discovered the approximately four-metre-long autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) during routine fishing operations. Later that evening, the fishermen turned the AUV over to the coast guard.
The alleged drone had been safely transported and secured at Coast Guard Station Linapacan for further verification, technical examination, and investigation in coordination with relevant national security agencies.
The coast guard said preliminary observations showed that the device features a conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) sensor, which includes Chinese labelling (海水盐度传感器; "seawater salinity sensor") and a serial number along with visible corrosion from prolonged saltwater exposure.
The coast guard said the incident highlights ongoing illegal marine scientific research in Philippine waters, amid a pattern of similar events involving foreign-origin unmanned vessels.
The Philippine Navy had earlier said that, throughout 2024, five unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) of unknown origin were recovered from various parts of the Philippines.
Areas where the five UUVs were found include the Babuyan Islands and Ilocos Norte province in the north of the country, Misamis Oriental province, and Masbate province where the last sighting of the year occurred.
Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, Philippine Navy Spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, said that three of the recovered UUVs were confirmed via forensic analysis as having Chinese markings.
Some of these earlier drones had their markings already defaced at the time that these were discovered. Trinidad remarked that this may have been done to conceal the identities of the operators or to prevent reverse engineering.