Unfortunately this is not new. Before the UK withdrawal from the Far East, the resident maritime squadron (205) used to keep an eye on the ships positions during our regular patrols over the South China Sea, as even then there were attempts to plunder the wrecks. If we sighted anything suspicious the RN would dispatch something post-haste to investigate.
Of note it was possible to see at least one of the vessel's' superstructure underwater at low water.