The Armed Forces of the Philippines said Tuesday that reports of a possible structure or equipment at Bajo de Masinloc remain under validation by government agencies and have yet to be confirmed.
AFP spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, Retired Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, said the matter is currently being reviewed by the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea and other concerned agencies.
"There was a report on a possible structure or equipment on Bajo de Masinloc. This is currently being validated by different government agencies. At the appropriate time, this will be answered by the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea," Trinidad said during a weekly briefing at Camp Aguinaldo.
Trinidad stressed that all reports involving national defense and maritime security undergo a stringent validation process before any official statement is released.
"We get a lot of reports on the maritime domain. All these reports are subjected to a stringent validation process before we release any news to the public. That includes this particular report on a possible equipment or structure or whatever that was reportedly sighted on Bajo de Masinloc," he said.
The AFP official also downplayed suggestions that the reported sighting was linked to the presence of Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea.
According to Trinidad, monitoring data from 26 May to 1 June showed the presence of 20 China Coast Guard vessels and seven People's Liberation Army Navy vessels in the area.
He noted that the reporting period coincided with the conduct of the Maritime Cooperative Activity between the Philippines and the United States.
Trinidad also addressed previous claims by Chinese authorities that military exercises had been conducted at Bajo de Masinloc.
"Upon our checking and our synchronized maritime domain awareness by the different services, no such activity was conducted," he said.
The AFP spokesperson emphasized that the military would not rely on social media posts or unverified claims and would wait for the findings of the interagency validation process.
"The report is still raw. It is still being validated by different government agencies. The moment it is validated or debunked, the appropriate statement will be issued by the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea," Trinidad said.
