January 5, 2025 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — The Senate is poised to invite officials of the military and foreign affairs to help shed light on the investigation into the submersible drone discovered off the waters of Masbate recently, Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino said yesterday.
Tolentino said he had already finalized and is set to file tomorrow the Senate resolution calling for the investigation into the six-foot drone, believed to be of Chinese origin, floating vertically at sea.
Local fishermen located the drone, which appeared to be made of PVC and metal, and was deactivated when it was found.
“(To be invited) include the Department of National Defense, the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines). I also want to include the DOST (Department of Science and Technology) to help. The DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) is also included. And a few who became our resource persons when we outlined the very difficult maritime zones,” Tolentino said over dwIZ radio.
The senator cited the potentially serious concerns of the drone’s presence on Philippine maritime security and legal compliance.
He noted that naval intelligence is still completing its investigation, but it has been confirmed that the drone was from another country, its yellow color indicating that it is being used in scientific research that is visible from above.
“The drone is not self-autonomous, meaning it came from a mothership. And that mothership is the one that launched it. It was placed on the sea. It didn’t come from far away because normally its range is only 10 kilometers and is run by people,” Tolentino explained.
“So it entered our territory, wherever it came from that ship, and it was launched there. It didn’t come from, say, China. It didn’t come from that far to enter like a submarine. There seems to be no difference between the drones you use when there are events,” he added.
Preliminary data gathered by the senator indicated that the drone is not for military purposes.
“But I have not yet confirmed that. So marine and scientific research. And currently, in the international law of the sea, because it was seen in Masbate, which is within our ocean, the coastal state must have given a permit for scientific research to be conducted by another country,” he said.
The DFA can help provide information on whether the presence of the drone is illegal, according to Tolentino.
Asked about the danger posed by the drone’s presence, he answered that there are factors that prevent foreigners from conducting scientific research in the country without a permit.
“First, if this is scientific research without a permit, that violates international law. That should be included in the UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea), that when inside our ocean, there must be, even in the exclusive colonial zone, even in the contiguous zone, the coastal state must have a permit,” the senator said.
“Second, if it is military grade, national security is also in danger. It doesn’t just require a permit. This is already a violation of our sovereignty,” he added.
The Philippine government can thus file a diplomatic protest, according to Tolentino.
“The resolution that I will file is an investigation, and if it violates our new law, we have a new law, the Archipelagic Sea Lanes Law, which means that if large vessels pass through the archipelagic sea lanes, there is also a penalty,” he said.
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