Device with ‘Chinese markings’ found in Zambales waters
SAN ANTONIO, ZAMBALES—Local fishermen have recovered an unidentified device, believed to be an underwater drone, marked with Chinese characters in the waters off Zambales.
In a telephone interview on Wednesday, Noel Quimson, 55, skipper of fishing vessel FB Double-N 9, said they saw the object while fishing 148 kilometers (80 nautical miles) west of Sampaloc Point on Aug. 22.
“The first things we saw were fish jumping out of the water, so we went to catch fish there. Then we saw what looked like a ‘submarine’ which was round with a tail,” said Quimson, a resident of Barangay Wawandue in Subic town.
He said they hauled in the device using “kawil,” a traditional fishing method with a hook and line.
Investigation
“We took it; it has Chinese writing on it. It has stainless steel, a light, a battery, rope, and wire, and it also has a buoy with three circles. We took those home, but we left the largest part at sea because it was too heavy,” he said.
On their way back to Subic, Quimson announced their discovery over a centralized channel for commercial fishing vessels, which was later monitored by both the Philippine Navy and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
Commander Euphraim Jayson Diciano, chief of the PCG Zambales, confirmed that the fishermen had turned over some of the device’s parts.
“The items were turned over to our station in Subic town on Tuesday and are now being transported to our headquarters in Manila for further investigation,” he said.
Diciano declined to confirm if the object was indeed an underwater drone, pending the results of an investigation.
The larger portion of the device, weighing about 300 kilos, was later retrieved by the PCG vessel BRP Teresa Magbanua.
This was not the first time such a device was recovered in Philippine waters. Earlier this month, fishermen found an underwater drone some 276 km northwest of Bolinao, Pangasinan.
Since 2022, several similar devices have been discovered in the country—two in the waters off Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte; two off Calayan Island, Cagayan; and one each in Initao, Misamis Oriental, and San Pascual, Masbate.
Authorities have since intensified monitoring efforts, linking some incidents to suspected espionage activities.
On March 17, six Chinese were arrested on Grande Island in Subic Bay Freeport for allegedly conducting covert intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance operations targeting critical infrastructure in Central Luzon region. Witnesses said the group used drones under the guise of transporting fishing bait but were in fact monitoring naval assets of both local and allied forces.
