Philippine Navy Rear Admiral Roy Trinidad, spokesman for South China Sea points, speaks as he shows a slide exhibiting underwater drones recovered by fishermen and turned over to the authorities, throughout a press convention at Camp Aguinaldo in Manila on April 15, 2025.| Picture by Ted ALJIBE / AFP
MANILA, Philippines — 5 underwater drones discovered by Philippine fishermen have been able to gathering info that would assist in “underwater warfare”, the nation’s navy stated Tuesday, noting a minimum of one had relayed a sign to China.
The revelation follows months of confrontations between the Philippines and China within the disputed South China Sea and comes as Manila prepares for large-scale navy workout routines with treaty ally america this month.
The drones have been found between 2022 and 2024 in places “vital strategically within the protection and the safety not solely of the nation however for worldwide maritime navigation,” Philippine navy officers informed reporters at a briefing on Tuesday.
Their knowledge assortment served functions “past navigation”, in keeping with Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, who stated the knowledge may very well be used for “underwater warfare,” detecting threats and testing weaponry under the floor.
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Whereas declining to definitively establish the drones’ origin, Trinidad famous that a number of bore Chinese language markings, whereas a minimum of one had relayed a sign to China.
“Based mostly on the technical examine of the forensics of the SIM card (discovered on one of many 5 drones), the final contact of the cardboard was in mainland China,” stated Trinidad, who serves because the navy’s spokesman for South China Sea points.
Three of the drones have been discovered off the north coast of the Philippines’ important island of Luzon, together with two close to the Balintang Channel south of Taiwan, he added.
Two others have been retrieved from what have been recognized as “essential chokepoints,” one close to Masbate Island within the central Philippines and one other close to the southern island of Mindanao.
The Chinese language Embassy didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
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The Philippines individually on Tuesday stated this 12 months’s Balikatan, or “shoulder to shoulder,” workout routines with their US counterparts would come with a take a look at of “built-in air missile defence” for the primary time.
The joint workout routines, which is able to contain roughly 10,000 troopers, will happen from April 21 to Might 9.
“We’re treating workout routines as rehearsals. We’re implementing a plan that has been deliberate out within the earlier Balikatan and that’s what we’re going to execute right now,” stated Brigadier Normal Mike Logico.
Philippine protection chief Romeo Brawner this month informed troops in northern Luzon that the island would host the majority of the Balikatan workout routines due to its strategic significance.
“These are the areas the place we understand the potential of an assault. I don’t need to sound alarmist, however we’ve to arrange,” he stated.
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