Officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police (PNP) have reported the discovery of an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) off the coast of the Philippines' Masbate province on Monday, December 30.
The yellow cylindrical glider-type craft was found by local fishers approximately nine kilometres off Masbate's San Pascual municipality at around 06:00 local time on Monday.
The 2.72-metre-long UUV was later handed over to the Philippine Navy for proper disposal after an inspection showed that it was not carrying weapons or explosives.
The PNP said the UUV had "HY-119" written on its body. Although the actual origin of the craft could not be ascertained, police officials said HY-119 refers to a Chinese-developed underwater navigation and communication system.
A police official told the Philippines' GMA News that the UUV also had an optical sensor on its nosecone and an antenna at the rear end.
A local security analyst believes the UUV is a military-grade craft that had been used by China for seabed terrain mapping in Philippine waters prior to its discovery.