Manila, Feb. 10 -- A ranking Philippine Navy (PN) official on Monday said naval and coast guard ships are keeping a close watch on the Chinese Research Vessel (CRV) Lan Hai 101, which was earlier detected navigating within the eastern waters of Palawan.

"On 09 February 2025, the CRV Lan Hai 101 was detected navigating within the eastern waters of Palawan. The presence of the vessel was swiftly identified by the Littoral Monitoring Station (LMS) Melville, which promptly issued a challenge regarding its presence in the Philippine waters," PN spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said in a message to the Philippine News Agency.

Trinidad said the crew of the CRV Lan Hai 101 passed through the eastern wat...