Philippines Protests Against Chinese Floating Structure in the South China Sea

The Philippines protests a Chinese floating building in the disputed South China Sea, which makes things more tense at sea. 

Reports say that China put a floating installation in a disputed area of the South China Sea. On Tuesday, officials from the Philippines stated that they had sent a formal diplomatic protest to China.

The country’s foreign ministry said it had taken “appropriate diplomatic measures” in reaction to what it called the illegal presence of a structure in the Scarborough Shoal, a maritime feature that both the United States and Canada claim.

A government task group monitoring the West Philippine Sea reported that the object measured approximately six meters by six meters and appeared to have an antenna-like structure on it. It was seen in and around the bay area of the shoal.

According to the authorities, the building was first seen near the lagoon’s entrance. Later pictures showed that it had moved deeper into the atoll’s shallow water.

Officials also said that recent surveillance photos from military tracking units showed that the installation seemed to have been occupied at times.

The task group made it clear that Manila would continue to follow international law and protect what it called the country’s “sovereign rights and maritime jurisdiction” in the area.

Defense officials said they were looking at intelligence reports and satellite images to get a better idea of what the building was and what it might be used for. They also said that monitoring in the area would continue.

International observers recently looked at new satellite photos that showed the building was in the lagoon at one point, but later photos showed it had been taken out.

Scarborough Shoal is still a very tense spot between Manila and Beijing. It is about 200 kilometers off the coast of the Philippines, which is a lot closer to the Philippines than mainland China.

There have been political problems many times in the area since 2012 because China has kept coast guard and maritime militia ships there.

An international court decision in 2016 sided with the Philippines in some parts of the dispute. However, the issue of who owns the shoal remains unresolved, with both countries continuing to make claims.