Philippines Demands China Remove Floating Structure from Scarborough Shoal, Warns Against Island-Building
The Philippines urged China on Wednesday to remove a floating structure placed inside the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, filing a formal diplomatic protest and warning that Manila will not allow the atoll to be converted into a man-made island. Rogelio Villanueva Jr., spokesman for maritime affairs at the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs, described the structure as “semi-permanent” during a press briefing on June 10. Aerial monitoring by multiple Philippine agencies confirmed the presence of a six-by-six metre floating structure bearing what appears to be an antenna within the shoal. The Edge MalaysiaThe Edge Malaysia
Manila lodged the diplomatic protest on Tuesday over what it described as a “movable platform,” which the Philippine Coast Guard said was likely deployed by Chinese research vessels. Philippine authorities also monitored Chinese personnel on the floating platform, who are believed to have helped move the structure, which was already observed inside the shoal’s lagoon by May 31. Other objects, including buoys and a possible antenna, were also spotted within the shoal at the same time. BusinessWorld + 2
Manila first spotted the object at the shoal’s southeast entrance on May 25. Reuters obtained satellite images confirming the platform’s presence, although an image taken on June 1 showed it was no longer at the mouth of the shoal. The Philippine Coast Guard said the structure remained at the shoal and was last observed in the middle of the lagoon. The Edge MalaysiaBusinessWorld
Philippine Navy spokesperson Roy Vincent T. Trinidad told a press briefing that the country is doing “what we can to perform our mandate, and that includes preventing Bajo de Masinloc from being developed into another man-made island,” using the shoal’s local name. BusinessWorld
Alexander Lopez, undersecretary of the National Maritime Council, said China’s recent actions in the shoal are “deemed unauthorised and illegal,” adding that the Philippine government will undertake all steps necessary to assert its sovereignty over the shoal. The Edge Malaysia
China did not confirm or deny responsibility for the structure. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Tuesday that any activity carried out by Beijing on the shoal — including scientific research — is lawful, and reiterated that China has “indisputable sovereignty” over Scarborough Shoal, which it calls Huangyan Dao, and its adjacent waters. The Edge Malaysia
Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela said the objects are likely present for marine scientific research and that the Philippines will continue monitoring and patrolling the area. Philippine officials declined to publicly characterise the structure’s presence as an escalation or to speculate on its intended purpose. The Edge Malaysia
The comparison to China’s earlier island-building campaigns was raised by at least one expert. Jay L. Batongbacal, a professor at the University of the Philippines and a maritime law expert, said the photos were reminiscent of Mischief Reef — one of seven artificial islands China has built in the South China Sea, now equipped with a runway, radar systems, and surface-to-air missiles. “They started with the base, then small huts that kept getting upgraded,” Batongbacal said, adding that he viewed the structure as part of China’s “actions to incrementally change the facts on the ground.” BusinessWorldBusinessWorld
Regional and Global Impact
The South China Sea serves as a conduit for approximately $3 trillion in annual global trade, and China claims almost the entirety of it. The Scarborough Shoal sits close to major shipping lanes and is prized for its fish stocks and a lagoon that offers shelter to vessels during storms. Any shift in effective control of the atoll carries direct consequences for Philippine fishing communities and broader regional maritime access. BusinessWorldBusinessWorld
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is negotiating with China on a long-awaited Code of Conduct for the South China Sea, but an agreement remains elusive. Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro told a Nikkei forum in Tokyo on Wednesday that it would be better not to have a code of conduct than to have a “bad” one, and said efforts to conclude a pact should be based on the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and other agreed principles. BusinessWorldBusinessWorld
Background
China took effective control of the Scarborough Shoal after a standoff with the Philippines in 2012 and has since reclaimed reefs across contested waters to assert its sweeping territorial claims over the South China Sea. The seven artificial islands China has built in the Spratly Islands — including Mischief Reef and Fiery Cross Reef — have been progressively militarised over the past decade. Relations between Manila and Beijing have deteriorated over repeated maritime confrontations, including previous incidents in which China deployed floating barriers at the shoal. Philippine armed forces chief Romeo Brawner Jr. stated earlier this week that the Philippines will not allow a repeat of what happened in the past in the contested waters. China’s designation of Scarborough Shoal as a national nature reserve last year added a further layer of legal dispute to the competing sovereignty claims. The Edge MalaysiaThe Edge Malaysia
What Happens Next
The Philippine Coast Guard confirmed it will continue monitoring and patrolling the shoal. Manila has already issued multiple demarches to Beijing over the structure and lodged a formal diplomatic protest; further diplomatic communications are expected if China does not act on the removal demand. Lopez said the Philippine government will undertake all steps necessary to assert sovereignty over the shoal. Lazaro’s remarks in Tokyo signal that Manila intends to keep international pressure on the Code of Conduct negotiations, conditioning any agreement on UNCLOS compliance. The status of the floating platform inside the lagoon — last confirmed by the Philippine Coast Guard — remains unresolved as of June 10. The Edge MalaysiaThe Edge Malaysia
