On September 28, the Philippine Coast Guard accused the Chinese private research vessel 'Jia Hai Ke 7' of suspected location spoofing and concealing its movements. The vessel's tracking data showed it departing from Xiamen in the early hours of September 21 and appearing near Papua New Guinea, 2,000 nautical miles away, about 19 hours later. A Philippine patrol aircraft spotted the ship approximately 38 nautical miles northwest of the Batan Islands and, after receiving no response to multiple radio calls, suspected it of conducting unauthorized scientific research activities.