MALATE, Manila — The five underwater drones discoverred within Philippine territorial waters by our fishermen from 2022 to 2024 were found to be capable of gathering information that could aid in "underwater warfare", according to Philippine Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea (WPS) Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad.

In a statement, Trinidad had dusclosed that one of the drones had actually relayed a signal to China, thus igniting more doubts that Beijing has increased 'spying' operations particularly on Philippine military installations and activities.

This revelation by navy authorities follows months of confrontations between patrol ships of the Philippine Navy and other government agencies and those of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and China Coast Guard (CCG) China in the disputed South China Sea region and comes as Manila prepares for large-scale military exercises with treaty ally the United States this month.

"The drones were discovered . . . in locations important strategically in the defense and the security not only of the country but for international maritime navigation," military officials cited even as the data collection by the drones is said to have served purposes "beyond navigation."

While declining to definitively identify the drones' origin, Trinidad noted that several bore Chinese markings, while he reiterated that at least one of them had relayed a signal to China.

"Based on the technical study of the forensics of the SIM card (found on one of the five drones), the last contact of the card was in mainland China," he asserted.

"Indicators would point with a likelihood of 55 to 80 percent that were deployed by the Chinese Communist Party," he added.

Three of the drones were found off the north coast of Luzon, including two near the Balintang Channel south of Taiwan. Two others were retrieved from what were identified as "critical chokepoints," one near Masbate Island in the central Philippines and another near the southern island of Mindanao.

The Chinese Embassy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.