GUARDING a disputed gateway, a movable floating platform installed by China at Bajo de Masinloc in the West Philippine Sea, where repeated confrontations have underscored competing claims to the strategic fishing ground within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
PHOTOGRAPH courtesy of task force wps/pcg
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported Wednesday that the spotted Chinese floating structure has moved from the entrance to inside Bajo de Masinloc.
At a joint briefing of the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) and the Philippine Coast Guard WPS Transparency Group, PCG spokesperson for the WPS, Jay Tarriela, said the movement was monitored on 31 May and was supported by two boats.
Maritime forces also found a buoy, an unidentified floating object, and an antenna structure in the vicinity of the shoal.
Tarriela said the Chinese “floating structure” can be seen in the lagoon of Bajo de Masinloc, or Scarborough Shoal, in the West Philippine Sea.
Sea bogey
The photo of the structure, taken during a recent PCG maritime domain awareness flight, was shown at the news conference.
He added that the first indication of the structure was recorded on 25 May through satellite imagery.
On 26 May, Tarriela said a maritime domain awareness flight conducted by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources verified the presence of the structure near the southeast entrance of Bajo de Masinloc. A PCG MDA flight conducted on 28 May confirmed the structure’s location.
The PCG also monitored a People’s Liberation Army helicopter operating in the vicinity of Bajo de Masinloc. The following day, a buoy was seen on the northern part of the shoal. Two Chinese vessels were also observed operating inside the shoal.
Another PCG MDA flight conducted on 30 May monitored six individuals aboard the structure. The PCG also saw a newly installed antenna on a rock near the entrance to the shoal.
