Philippines verifies reports of possible new structure at Scarborough Shoal
Philippine authorities are verifying reports of a possible new structure or device at Scarborough Shoal after satellite imagery detected an unidentified object near the lagoon entrance, amid ongoing tensions with China in the South China Sea.
- Philippine agencies are verifying reports of a possible structure at Scarborough Shoal.
- Satellite imagery showed an unidentified object near the lagoon entrance in late May.
- The development comes amid continuing maritime tensions between the Philippines and China.
The Philippine government is verifying reports of a possible new structure or equipment at Scarborough Shoal, a disputed reef in the South China Sea controlled by China but claimed by the Philippines, officials said.
The shoal is known in the Philippines as Bajo de Masinloc or Panatag Shoal. It lies about 220 kilometres west of Luzon, the Philippines’ main island, and is within the country’s exclusive economic zone. China calls the feature Huangyan Island and has maintained control of it since a 2012 standoff with the Philippines.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines said the report remained unconfirmed. Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, the AFP spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, said several government agencies were validating information about “a possible structure or equipment” at Bajo de Masinloc. He said the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea would issue a statement once the information had either been confirmed or disproved.
The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea also said it was aware of reports about an alleged new structure at the shoal and that relevant agencies were using monitoring, surveillance and operational assessment mechanisms to establish the facts. It urged the public to avoid speculation while verification was under way.
The reports followed the release of commercial satellite imagery by SeaLight, a maritime transparency initiative, which said it had detected a small reflective object near the southern entrance of Scarborough Shoal’s lagoon.
The group said imagery taken on May 26 and May 28 appeared to show an object in the same location, but it said it could not determine whether it was a fixed structure, a marker, a buoy-type device, a monitoring instrument or another installation.
Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said earlier that Manila had received raw information about possible new structures at the shoal. Speaking on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, he said authorities were monitoring developments at Bajo de Masinloc and working to establish the facts.
The AFP said there were no reports of Chinese dredgers or specialised ships in the area. It also said there were no reports of Chinese vessels acting aggressively towards Philippine vessels passing near the shoal at the time of the latest monitoring. The military said what had been observed was the presence of People’s Liberation Army Navy vessels and Chinese Coast Guard ships.
In its May monitoring report, the Philippine Navy recorded 82 Chinese vessels across four key maritime features in the West Philippine Sea. The largest number was at Bajo de Masinloc, where 39 vessels were monitored, including 16 People’s Liberation Army Navy vessels and 23 Chinese Coast Guard ships. The navy also recorded 17 vessels at Ayungin Shoal, 10 at Escoda Shoal and 16 near the Pag-asa Islands.
The AFP said the Philippine Navy monitored 21,751 vessels passing through Philippine waters in May, comprising 4,054 domestic vessels and 17,697 foreign vessels. Of these, 15,426 responded to radio challenges, while 6,325 did not. The military said the monitoring and radio challenge procedures formed part of its maritime domain awareness operations.
Scarborough Shoal has long been one of the most sensitive flashpoints in the South China Sea. The atoll includes a shallow lagoon and fishing grounds used by Filipino fishermen. It is also near major sea routes, adding to its strategic importance.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, including areas within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. In 2016, an international arbitral tribunal ruled in favour of the Philippines and rejected Beijing’s sweeping claims under the so-called nine-dash line. China has rejected the ruling.
The latest reports come amid continued maritime tensions between Manila and Beijing. In April, Reuters reported that China had deployed ships and installed a floating barrier at the entrance to Scarborough Shoal, according to satellite imagery. Similar barriers have previously been removed by the Philippines.
Philippine officials said further information on the reported structure would be released once the verification process is completed. The Chinese embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment, according to Reuters.
