MANILA, Philippines — Philippine authorities on Wednesday said a Chinese floating platform inside Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea may be supporting unauthorized marine scientific research, citing the continued presence of Chinese research vessels in the area and what appeared to be data-gathering activities.
Officials from the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) presented a timeline of observations showing the platform’s appearance in late May and linked it to two Chinese research vessels operating near the disputed shoal.
“We can also say that they are probably conducting illegal scientific research in Bajo de Masinloc (Panatag Shoal),” Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Rear Adm. Jay Tarriela said during a press briefing in Manila.
Panatag Shoal is a maritime feature in the West Philippine Sea internationally known as Scarborough Shoal and locally as Bajo de Masinloc.
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Tarriela stressed that authorities are still validating the platform’s exact purpose and said any conclusions remain subject to further monitoring.
National Maritime Council Undersecretary Alexander Lopez said government assessments indicate that the platform’s activities involve data collection.
“Based on our monitoring and assessment, we are quite sure that these are all data-gathering,” Lopez said. “But we’re not sure what kind of data they’re trying to collect.”
Panatag Shoal is about 357 kilometers off Palauig, Zambales, and roughly 926 kilometers from Hainan, China’s southernmost province. It lies within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, about 352 kilometers from the nearest Philippine coastline.
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However, it has remained under Chinese control since a 2012 standoff with the Philippine Navy.
Beijing claims nearly all of the South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea, waters in the western portion of the country’s 370-kilometer EEZ. It continues to ignore a 2016 ruling by an international arbitral tribunal that nullified its claims and upheld Manila’s sovereign rights over these waters.
Timeline
According to Tarriela, commercial satellite imagery taken on May 20 showed no man-made structure at the entrance of the shoal. A day later, Philippine authorities observed two Chinese research vessels — YUE XIA YU ZHI 20028 and YUE ZHAN YU 6 — near the area.
By May 25, satellite imagery showed a square-shaped object near the southeastern entrance of the shoal, marking the first indication of the platform’s presence.
Authorities later documented the structure during maritime domain awareness flights conducted by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and the Philippine Coast Guard.
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The platform, which officials described as a movable floating structure, has an estimated deck area of about 30 square meters and is equipped with four metal stilts that could allow it to remain stationary at specific locations.
Tarriela said Philippine authorities observed six Chinese nationals on the platform on May 30.
The following day, they documented the structure being moved from the shoal’s entrance into the lagoon with the assistance of two service boats carrying an estimated 12 to 15 personnel.
Officials also reported the presence of additional floating buoys and what they described as a possible antenna structure installed near the shoal’s entrance.
Tarriela said the sequence of events, coupled with the continued presence of Chinese research vessels, suggested the activities were likely civilian in nature rather than military.
“The mere fact that what we are seeing there are all Chinese research vessels and there are no presence of PLA (People’s Liberation Army) Navy vessels there, I would like to put it that way,” he said.
“I think this is still a civilian, illegal marine scientific research that is being conducted.”
Diplomatic action
The Department of Foreign Affairs likewise expressed concern over the platform and related structures, saying they were installed without Philippine authorization.
“The continued presence of the semi-permanent floating platform, without consent or authorization, is not only a violation of the sovereignty and jurisdiction of the Philippines, but is also inconsistent with international law,” DFA spokesperson for maritime affairs Rogelio Villanueva Jr. said in the same briefing.
Villanueva said Manila has undertaken diplomatic actions, including several démarches and a diplomatic protest, in response to the developments.
He also urged China to remove the platform and refrain from similar activities in and around the shoal.
Code of Conduct negotiations
The DFA said the structures were inconsistent with China’s commitments under the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, which calls on claimant states to exercise self-restraint and avoid actions that could complicate disputes.
Despite the incident, Villanueva said the Philippines remains committed to ongoing negotiations between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on a Code of Conduct for the South China Sea.
For its part, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said it would continue patrols in the West Philippine Sea.
READ: WPS: PH upbeat on progress in South China Sea code of conduct talks
AFP spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, now a reservist, said the military conducted 42 maritime patrols in May and June, including 35 sea patrols and seven air patrols, across its western maritime areas.
“With this development in Bajo de Masinloc, we will keep performing this mandate. We will continue patrolling the seas, flying the skies,” Trinidad said.
China defended its activities in the shoal.
In a statement, Chinese Embassy in Manila spokesperson Ji Lingpeng said the area is Chinese territory and that Beijing has the right to conduct activities there, including scientific research.
“Huangyan Dao (Panatag Shoal) is China’s inherent territory. China has indisputable sovereignty over it and its adjacent waters,” Ji said.
“It is fully within China’s sovereign rights to carry out activities including scientific research at Huangyan Dao.”
The Chinese Embassy also reiterated Beijing’s rejection of the 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidated China’s sweeping claims in the South China Sea, describing the award as “illegal, null and void.” /dl
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