The Philippine Navy is not alarmed at this time by the recovery of an underwater drone in waters off San Pascual, Masbate.
According to Ian Cruz’s report on “24 Oras,” Navy spokesman Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said the drone’s bright color was so that it could be seen from the air.
We need to do further analysis on it para masabi natin, matiyak natin kung saan galing, anong gamit nun, anong ginagawa nun,” said Navy spokesperson Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad in Ian Cruz’s report in 24 Oras.
(We need to do further analysis on it to determine where it came from, what its purpose is, and what was it doing there.)
“Usually bright colors like yellow, red, orange, these are for scientific research or for fishing use like tracking of schools of fish for fishing purposes. They are designed to be seen from the air,” he added.
“So, hindi naman ito alarming,” Trinidad said.
(So this is not alarming.)
The fishermen in San Pascual found the 2.72-meter-long drone floating in the waters last December 30.
The Bicol Region Police’s explosive ordinance disposal team immediately looked into the device.
Although it’s not an explosive device, the local police said the marking indicated that it is an underwater navigation and communication system.
“Ang very visible po sir na marking, yung HY-119..Sinearch sa internet ng ating mga pulis at lumalabas nga po sir na this refers to Chinese underwater navigation and communication system….yun din ang nag-push sa atin para iturn over na lang po ito sa ating kapatid sa Philippine Navy,” said Police Regional Office V chief Police Brigadier General Andre Dizon.
(It has a very visible marking, HY-119….We searched about it on the internet and we found that this refers to a Chinese underwater navigation and communication system…So this pushed us to turn over the drone to the Philippine Navy.)
Meanwhile, security analyst Rene De Castro believes that the underwater drone could be a military device.
“For military purpose po yan. Siguro for operation, tinitingnan siguro ‘yung underwater terrain for submarine operations po,” he said. “For submarine warfare, hindi ko na ho kinagugulat ‘yan, kasi talagang mainit ang ulo ng Tsina sa atin.”
(It’s for military purposes. Maybe it’s for operation, surveillance of the underwater terrain for submarine operations. So this could be for submarine warfare and I’m not surprised about it because China is mad at us.)
Surigao del Norte Representative Ace Barbers said that he is also not surprised if China has been doing underwater surveillance amid the territorial dispute between Beijing and Manila.
“With the recovery by local fishermen of a Chinese military-owned underwater drone off the waters in San Pascual, Masbate last Monday, he said it is not farfetched that China has long been conducting in-depth intel gathering inside Philippine waters, possibly including data about deuterium,” the lawmaker said in a statement.
Barbers also pushed for the establishment of EDCA sites in Surigao del Norte to protect the country’s eastern seaboard from foreign intruders.
GMA Integrated News has reached out to the China Embassy in Manila for comment. —Vince Angelo Ferreras/NB, GMA Integrated News
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