The Philippine government confirmed yesterday that a “mobile platform” placed by Chinese maritime forces on a disputed shoal in the South China Sea had been removed.
The platform, which measured about six by six meters and appeared to be equipped with an antenna, was first spotted in satellite images taken on May 25, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) said last week. The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs later protested the platform’s “illegal presence,” saying that protecting Manila’s sovereignty and jurisdiction “remains a paramount consideration.”
In a statement issued yesterday, the NTF-WPS confirmed that aerial and maritime patrols conducted yesterday by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) confirmed the removal of the platform.
“While noting the withdrawal, we reiterate our principled and unyielding position: Bajo de Masinloc is and always will be an integral part of Philippine territory,” it said in a statement, using Manila’s official name for the shoal, over which the Philippines has “indivisible, indisputable and long-standing sovereignty.”
The PCG later said it observed the Chinese research vessel Yue Zhan Yu Ke 6 “dismantling the floating platform and loading it onto its stern” on Tuesday. He said the ship was “no longer in the vicinity” of the shoal, but as of yesterday a smaller Chinese research vessel was still present.
The NTF-WPS said it is evaluating the nature, purpose and potential implications of the platform’s deployment, adding that Scarborough Shoal “is part of the Philippines and within its maritime zones as recognized by international law.”
The triangular atoll, located about 200 kilometers west of the Philippine island of Luzon and 874 kilometers from China’s Hainan island, is a persistent flashpoint in maritime disputes between the Philippines and China. The shoal has been under Chinese control since 2012, when the two countries engaged in a tense 10-week standoff that ended with China occupying the shoal, despite an agreement to mutually withdraw from the shoal.
Since then, Chinese coast guard vessels have surrounded the shoal and repeatedly attempted to prevent Filipino fishermen from accessing the rich fishing grounds inside the atoll’s central lagoon.
The deployment of the floating platform appears to mark an intensification of China’s pressure campaign against Philippine-claimed formations in the South China Sea.
The fact that China chose to remove the platform is perhaps a sign that Manila’s forceful response has forced China to back down. More likely, Beijing has only been testing the waters (so to speak) and has no intention of backing down in its attempt to force the Philippines to accept its maximalist maritime and territorial claims.
At a press briefing yesterday, Reuters reported, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said that China has “indisputable sovereignty” over Scarborough Shoal and that the floating platform was part of an “in-depth research” program in the South China Sea, possibly linked to the nature reserve it declared at Scarborough Shoal last year.
He added that such activities fall within China’s sovereign rights and other countries “have no right to interfere.”