Manila, April 3 -- The Philippine government continues to monitor a Chinese research vessel to make sure that it would not be able to conduct a maritime survey in the Philippine waters, the National Security Council (NSC) said Thursday.

This was after the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) confirmed the deployment of its aircraft on Wednesday morning to challenge the presence of Chinese research vessel "Song Hang," which was seen 58 nautical miles east of Aborlan, Palawan.

In a Palace press briefing, National Security Council Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya said the Chinese vessel was approximately 48.65 nautical miles northeast of Tambisan Island in Sabah, Malaysia, as of 7:30 a.m. Thursday.

"It is currently outside the archipela...