Alleged Chinese underwater drone recovered off Palawan, Philippines

Areas where the five UUVs were found include the Babuyan Islands and Ilocos Norte province in the north of the country, Misamis Oriental province, and Masbate province where the last sighting of the year occurred.

Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, Philippine Navy Spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, said that three of the recovered UUVs were confirmed via forensic analysis as having Chinese markings.

Some of these earlier drones had their markings already defaced at the time that these were discovered. Trinidad remarked that this may have been done to conceal the identities of the operators or to prevent reverse engineering.