NSC: No proof yet China behind crashed drone

Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya, NSC spokesperson —INQUIRER.net file photo

MANILA, Philippines — The National Security Council (NSC) said on Monday that it was too early to tell which country launched the crashed drone Filipino fishermen fished out of the waters off Masbate Island on Dec. 30.

In an interview over government television, Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya, NSC spokesperson, played down suspicions that the yellow drone marked “HY-119” was of Chinese origin and conducted reconnaissance missions for China’s submarines.

“The presumption of some experts is that this drone is Chinese, but our government believes that it is still too early to release the results of its forensic investigation,” he said over the government television program “Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon.”

READ: Recovered submarine drone: National security implications cited

Philippine Navy officials last week confirmed the discovery by Filipino fishermen of a remotely operated submersible drone around 9 kilometers (6 miles) off the coast of San Pascual in Masbate province.

The device bore markings that supposedly referred to a Chinese underwater navigation and communication system, prompting speculation that Beijing was conducting probing activities in the inland waters of the Philippine archipelago and plotting a route for its submarines to access the Pacific Ocean.

Malaya said the speculation may be based on the fact that the San Bernardino Strait off the island province of Masbate was a “strategic and vital waterway” to access the country from the Pacific Ocean.

Possible purpose

“So there are some speculations that the purpose of the unarmed drone is to map out that area,” he added.

According to Malaya, an investigation of the recovered drone is still ongoing, and probers have not yet come to a conclusion.

“Anyway, we have custody of the drone so we can scrutinize it thoroughly and discuss our findings with our foreign counterparts to allow us to identify the origins of this.

“But, as of now, it is still too early to fully determine its origin. So, it would be irresponsible for us at the National Security Council to announce anything based on an initial investigation,” he said.