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Two Chinese research vessels have been spotted “loitering” in the waters of the resource-rich submerged landmass called Philippine (Benham) Rise east of Luzon, an American maritime expert reported on Friday.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Ray Powell said the Chinese vessels were in the northeast corner of Philippine Rise within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
Powell, who posted a satellite image on his X account, said the Haiyang Dizhi Liuhao and Haiyang Dizhi Shihao left port at Longxue Island in Guangzhou on Feb. 26 and sailed east southeast through the Luzon Strait.
The retired US Air Force officer is a project director at Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation who also heads Project Myoushu (South China Sea) in the same university.
