MANILA — The Philippines said on Wednesday that it is urging Beijing to remove a floating structure placed at the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, adding that it will not allow the atoll to be turned into a man-made island.
"From the lens of defence and security, we are doing what we can to perform our mandate, and that includes preventing Bajo de Masinloc from being developed into another man-made island," Philippine Navy spokesperson Roy Trinidad told a press briefing, using the shoal's local name.
Photos show people on board the platform
Philippine security officials shared photos of the floating structure during a press briefing on Wednesday, showing a square platform with several people on board and an antenna positioned at its centre.
The structure appeared to have been built from wooden planks forming a central deck, surrounded by cylindrical flotation devices secured around its perimeter.
China has neither confirmed nor denied it is responsible for the structure. Its foreign ministry on Tuesday reiterated that Beijing had "indisputable sovereignty" over the shoal and said China's activities there, including scientific research, are legitimate.
Photos released by the Philippine security officials also showed the presence of buoys and a different antenna within the shoal.
Reminiscent of mischief reef
Reuters earlier obtained satellite images confirming the platform's presence, although an image taken on June 1 showed it was no longer at the mouth of the shoal. The Philippine Coast Guard said it remains at the shoal and was last observed in the middle of the lagoon.
The Philippine officials refused to speculate on the platform's purpose or whether they view its presence as an escalation by China, which last year announced the creation of a national nature reserve at the shoal.
Jay Batongbacal, a professor at the University of the Philippines and a maritime law expert, said the photos were reminiscent of Mischief Reef, one of seven artificial islands that China has built in the South China Sea. It is equipped with a runway, radar systems, and surface-to-air missiles.
"They started with the base, then small huts that kept getting upgraded," Batongbacal said, adding that he saw the structure as part of China's "actions to incrementally change the facts on the ground."
Code of conduct efforts
Relations between Manila and Beijing have deteriorated amid repeated maritime confrontations in disputed areas of the South China Sea, a conduit for US$3 trillion in annual global trade, which China claims almost in its entirety.
The Scarborough Shoal is located close to major shipping lanes and is coveted for its fish stocks and a turquoise lagoon that provides a haven for vessels during storms. China seized de facto control in 2012.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) is negotiating with China on a long-awaited Code of Conduct for the South China Sea, but an agreement remains elusive.
Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma Theresa Lazaro told a Nikkei forum in Tokyo on Wednesday it would be better not to have a code of conduct than to have a "bad" one.
She said efforts to conclude a pact should be based on the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Law of the Sea and other agreed principles.
