Malacañang refused to make a comment on the recent sighting of a Chinese research vessel off Cagayan, saying they cannot speculate on it pending investigation.

Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said the Malacañang is leaving it to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to investigate on the presence of the vessel in Cagayan, which came after other sightings of Chinese research vessels near Itbayat Island in Batanes and in the West Philippine Sea.
"Sa ngayon po ay aalamin po muna natin, hindi po tayo puwedeng mag-speculate at ito po ay sensitibong issue. Kapag po napatunayan at mayroon pong naimbestigahan at mayroon na po tayong data ay ibibigay po namin sa inyo ang sagot agad-agad po (For now, we will first look into it, we should not speculate because this is a sensitive issue. If it is proven in the investigation and we get the data, we will give you an answer right away)," Castro said in a Palace briefing on Thursday, April 10.
The Palace official reiterated they are letting the PCG handle the investigation for now.
According to PCG Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, Chinese ship Dian Ke 1 Hao was sighted about 46 kilometers off the coastal town of Sta. Ana in Cagayan.
It was the second Chinese research ship seen off the country’s northern waters this month.
Tarriela said "we are not yet certain" if the vessel was conducting marine scientific research because it was navigating continuously.