China likely mapping out underwater terrain — PN

Two underwater drones that Filipino fishermen discovered within Philippine waters last year were likely deployed by the Chinese government for military purposes, a Philippine Navy spokesperson said on Tuesday, April 15.

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Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, shared the AFP’s findings from a forensic analysis of five recovered drones on Tuesday and said there is a “a 55 to 80 percent likelihood” that two of these drones were sent by China.

“Why 55 to 80 percent? It’s because of the components inside. Not all of them have markings that they were made in China. Others are available commercially off the shelf,” Trinidad said at a press conference.

“They have the capability to receive, to process, to store, and to transmit data through satellite communications to a station on land, to a mothership, or to other drones. We are not categorically stating where they came from, but there isa likelihood, a 55 to 80 percent likelihood per the report,” the Navy spokesperson added.