The West Philippine Sea. INQUIRER FILES

MANILA, Philippines — The Russian attack submarine reportedly spotted in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) was not actually inside the Philippine territory, National Security Council spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said on Monday.

In a public briefing, Malaya said they radio challenged the captain of the submarine to determine the reason for their presence in the area.

Article continues after this advertisement

READ: Russian attack sub spotted in West PH Sea

FEATURED STORIES GLOBALNATION Biden pardons son Hunter in final weeks of presidency GLOBALNATION 20,000 more foreign Pogo workers to leave PH as deadline nears - BI GLOBALNATION Norway suspends deep-sea mining projects – gov't allies

“Ito pong parte kung nasaan siya [Russian attack submarine] namataan, hindi siya territorial sea ng Pilipinas. Okay, nasa high seas siya, nasa exclusive economic zone. So technically, the Russian ship is exercising freedom of navigation,” he said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon briefing.

(This area where it [the Russian attack submarine] was spotted is not within the territorial sea of the Philippines. It is on the high seas, within the exclusive economic zone. So technically, the Russian ship is exercising freedom of navigation.)

Article continues after this advertisement

“Sinabi niya na galing siya ng exercises, PASSEX exercises with the Royal Malaysian Navy sa Kota Kinabalu, sa Malaysia, and on the way na siya pabalik sa kanyang naval based sa Vladivostok,” he said.

Article continues after this advertisement

(He said that he came from exercises, PASSEX exercises with the Royal Malaysian Navy in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, and was on his way back to his naval base in Vladivostok.)

Article continues after this advertisement

The captain said they were just waiting for the weather to improve before going back to Russia, Malaya said.

READ: West PH Sea: Marcos says Russian submarine sighting ‘very worrisome’

Article continues after this advertisement

In an ambush interview earlier in the day, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said that the sighting of the submarine was “very worrisome.”

Asked how alarming the sighting was, he responded, “All of that is very concerning. Any intrusion into the West Philippine Sea, of our EEZ, of our baselines is very worrisome. Yes, it’s just another one.”

In a Philippine Daily Inquirer report Monday, it said that military security sources confirmed the sighting of an underwater vessel, the Russian Navy’s Ufa, in the WPS.

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again. Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

SIGN ME UP

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

It was first spotted 148 kilometers (80 nautical miles) west off Occidental Mindoro.pesowin

READ NEXT Russian submarine not inside PH territory, says Nat’l Se... BI to deport 3 foreigners arrested in Pampanga, Makati EDITORS' PICK NU Pep Squad reclaims Cheerdance crown with ‘out of this world’ spectacle First impeachment complaint vs VP Sara filed at House China develops recoil-free machine gun for drones Russian attack sub spotted in West PH Sea VP vows to face House panel anew Oil price movement: Gasoline up 90¢/L, diesel down 20¢/L MOST READ Garcia on Erice’s inhibit call to Comelec commissioners: 'Illogical' Solons understand Marcos’ advice vs VP Duterte's impeachment First impeachment complaint vs VP Sara filed at House Russian attack sub spotted in West PH Sea Follow @FMangosingINQ on Twitter --> View comments

• not
• pesowin
• Inside
• Russian
• Submarine