The Philippine Navy revealed on Tuesday that three of the five underwater drones recovered in Philippine waters were likely deployed by China, based on the results of recent forensic investigations.
According to Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad, spokesperson for the Philippine Navy on matters concerning the West Philippine Sea, there is a 55% to 80% likelihood that the drones originated from China. This conclusion was based on the components found inside the recovered submersible devices.
“These are based on forensic analyses conducted on the drones recovered in Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte in July 2022; Calayan Island in August 2024; and Initao, Misamis Oriental in October 2024,” said Trinidad during a press briefing held at Camp Aguinaldo.
In addition to these three, two more underwater drones were discovered by the Navy—one in Zambales in September 2022 and another in San Pascual, Masbate earlier this year.
Further investigation also revealed that one of the drones had previously established contact with an individual in China, as confirmed through analysis of the device’s SIM card.
The drones, according to the Navy, are capable of receiving, processing, storing, and transmitting data through satellite communications to a land-based station, a mother ship, or even to other drones.
Trinidad also disclosed that some of the devices contained sensitive data with possible military applications. He emphasized that the drones were clearly used to collect underwater terrain information, such as bathymetric data.
The forensic analyses were conducted with the assistance of the United States, he added.
