Philippines says China has removed structure in disputed South China Sea shoal

MANILA – A floating structure in a contested shoal in the South China Sea has been removed, the Philippines said, after Manila lodged a diplomatic protest over what it called an “illegal” move by Beijing.

Patrols conducted by the Philippine authorities on the morning of June 17 confirmed the removal of the floating platform previously monitored within the lagoon of Scarborough Shoal, a Manila task force said in a statement.

“The Philippines has indivisible, incontrovertible and longstanding sovereignty over Bajo de Masinloc,” it said, referring to Scarborough Shoal.

“Only the Philippines has the right to place or construct structures and conduct activities, including marine scientific research, in Bajo de Masinloc and its territorial sea.”

China said the floating structure was a temporary scientific research facility established by its South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

“The relevant scientific research mission has now been successfully completed,” the Chinese Embassy in Manila said in a post on X on June 16.

The Philippines under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has been aggressively pushing back against China’s expansive claims in the resource-rich waterway, often leading to clashes between ships of the two nations in disputed waters.

China took effective control of Scarborough Shoal, which it calls Huangyan Dao, after a stand-off with the Philippines in 2012 and has reclaimed reefs in contested waters in a bid to assert its sweeping claims over the South China Sea.

Last week, China imposed sanctions on Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, accusing him of making remarks that damaged bilateral ties and raising tensions in a relationship already strained by territorial disputes. BLOOMBERG