Floating Platform Appears at Scarborough Shoal; Philippines Lodges Diplomatic Protest with China

(Central News Agency, Manila, June 9, Special Report) A floating platform, equipped with what appears to be an antenna and with personnel on board, has appeared inside the lagoon of Scarborough Shoal, which is currently under China's effective control. The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs has lodged a diplomatic protest with China, emphasizing that it will uphold national sovereignty and maritime rights in accordance with international law.

The Philippines' National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) issued a statement on June 9 confirming the presence of a floating platform inside the Scarborough Shoal (known as Huangyan Island in China). The statement said that multiple government agencies, through aerial reconnaissance, confirmed the platform to be approximately 6 meters by 6 meters in size, with what appears to be an antenna device on top and personnel activity observed.

The NTF-WPS is closely coordinating with relevant government agencies to continuously monitor the situation and further investigate the platform's nature, purpose, and potential impact. The statement noted that the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs has taken "appropriate diplomatic action" with Beijing regarding the "illegal presence" of this floating platform, emphasizing that upholding sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction is Manila's paramount consideration. It will continue to take appropriate measures under international law to defend national interests.

Scarborough Shoal is located approximately 124 nautical miles from Masinloc, Zambales, Philippines. Manila invokes the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to claim that the shoal lies within the Philippines' 200-nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Beijing, on the other hand, claims sovereignty based on historical rights.

In April 2012, a weeks-long standoff between Philippine and Chinese vessels occurred around the shoal, after which China effectively took control and has maintained a naval presence. The Philippines brought the dispute to the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague, Netherlands, and obtained a favorable ruling.

Philippine Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner, in a media interview on the evening of June 8, stated that a Philippine Air Force patrol aircraft discovered the platform during a reconnaissance mission over Scarborough Shoal. He said there were six people on the platform at the time, along with what appeared to be an antenna device.

General Brawner emphasized that the Philippine military will not allow the construction of permanent facilities on Scarborough Shoal, vowing not to let the Mischief Reef incident repeat itself. In 1994, China began building "shelters for fishermen" on Mischief Reef, which the Philippines discovered the following year and lodged a diplomatic protest. China later conducted large-scale land reclamation, eventually turning Mischief Reef into an artificial island with an airstrip, port, and military facilities.

Philippine Navy Spokesperson Captain Roy Vincent Trinidad stated in January of the previous year that the construction of an artificial island on Scarborough Shoal by China would be a "red line" for the Philippines, and that crossing it would trigger emergency response measures.