Philippines Probes Suspected Chinese Structure at Scarborough
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- Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said Monday the Philippines is verifying "raw information" that China may have installed a new structure in Scarborough Shoal, but authorities "could not yet characterize" what was monitored — adding that buoys occasionally appear in the area or may have drifted in from outside.
- Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. told Naval News the military recently monitored a suspected 6-by-6-meter "small structure" inside the shoal and is still investigating whether it is floating or fixed.
- In April, China deployed a 352-meter floating barrier across Scarborough Shoal's entrance that was later removed, according to satellite imagery and the Philippine Coast Guard.
- From May 26-30, Philippine and U.S. forces conducted a maritime cooperative activity near Scarborough Shoal, with the U.S. Coast Guard cutter USCGC Midgett (WMSL 757) joining the joint patrol for the first time.
- China said it carried out combat readiness and law enforcement patrols near the shoal, citing "rights violations and provocative acts" — a claim the Philippine military rejected as unsupported by any monitored evidence.
- President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. spoke by phone with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday to discuss mutual concerns including South China Sea developments.
Why it matters: The Philippines' verification comes alongside the first-ever U.S. Coast Guard cutter joining joint patrols at Scarborough — a flashpoint where China seized effective control in 2012 and maintains constant presence despite a 2016 arbitral ruling against its claims. The reported 6-by-6-meter object, if confirmed as a fixed Chinese structure, would mark another incremental expansion in a shoal both Manila's military and Washington are now actively contesting.
