THE Philippine Navy is investigating the reported underwater structure in Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal, a high-ranking Navy official said Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has sighted, for the first time, a yellow floating buoy positioned at the center of Bajo de Masinloc, during a maritime domain awareness patrol on Monday, Oct. 13, according to PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela.
The Navy probe comes despite China’s unilateral move to declare Panatag Shoal, also known as Bajo de Masinloc, as an environmental nature reserve.
“We have received certain reports of structures underwater which we are verifying,” Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson for West Philippine Sea Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said in a regular military press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo.
Since its effective takeover in 2012, China has enforced what experts call an “exclusion zone enforcement” around Panatag.
In 2016, however, an arbitral tribunal declared the shoal a traditional fishing ground for the Philippines, China and Vietnam.
Trinidad said the Navy has informed the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) about the issue and that coordination is ongoing among the Navy, the PCG, and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources for an appropriate response.
He noted that while there are indications of barriers and possible concrete piles, verification is still underway to determine whether these are new constructions or remnants of old installations.
According to Trinidad, similar structures had been seen before, including a steel marker erected by China in 1997, which was destroyed by the Philippine Navy, and building blocks that were likely remnants from the period when the U.S. used the area as a bombing range.
Trinidad stressed that all reports are being closely investigated. “They could be remnants of old structures that were there on Bajo de Masinloc, we are checking everything,” he added.
“For the first time, we also monitored this yellow floating buoy at the center of Bajo de Masinloc. For so many times that we have flown here, we’ve seen floating barriers at the entrance, but not this kind of floating buoy in the middle,” Tarriela said.
He added that aside from the buoy, the team also spotted a seemingly man-made structure on the southeastern part of the shoal.
“We cannot really tell whether these are steel, concrete, or wooden structures. We cannot confirm whether these are just debris, wooden remnants, or metal parts from previous activities. But this is the first time we’ve seen something like this in that area,” he said.
The PCG is currently conducting further verification to determine the nature and possible origin of the buoy and the unidentified structure.
On Monday, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) also reported the largest deployment of Chinese vessels to date in Pagasa Islands..
According to Tarriela, this was observed during Sunday’s humanitarian mission for local fishermen in the area.
The flotilla, consisting of more than 15 Chinese maritime militia ships, five China Coast Guard vessels, a People’s Liberation Army Navy ship, and a helicopter, came as close as 1.6 to 1.8 nautical miles from the island’s shores.
“This is the closest the Chinese Coast Guard has harassed and bullied BFAR (Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources) vessels,” Tarriela said in a media briefing. “It is very close to Pagasa Island.”
Chinese ships also used water cannons against BFAR vessels during the aid distribution for local fishermen.
The Chinese flotilla’s proximity falls well within the territorial waters of Pagasa Island, which is part of Kalayaan town in Palawan province.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said it will file a diplomatic protest against China after a Chinese ship “deliberately rammed” BRP Datu Pagbuaya that was providing cover for Filipino fishermen in the West Philippine Sea.
