MANILA — The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) said Wednesday that a floating platform previously monitored inside the lagoon of Bajo de Masinloc and Panatag Shoal had been removed, based on maritime patrols and monitoring conducted on June 17. Philippine authorities said the platform was no longer present after fresh maritime domain awareness operations and aerial surveillance.

A floating Chinese platform at Panatag Shoal has revived fears in the Philippines that Beijing could be taking another incremental step toward turning one of the South China Sea's most sensitive disputed features into a permanent outpost. The Armed Forces of the Philippines said on Tuesday it would not allow any structure to be built at the shoal, nearly three weeks after satellite images first showed a possible floating platform there.

MANILA — The Marcos administration’s National Maritime Council (NMC) has forcefully rejected China’s sanctions against Defense Secretary Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. and his family, calling the Beijing move an affront to Philippine sovereignty and a violation of international law.

MANILA — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. did not dwell on warships or water cannons when he rose to speak at the country's Independence Day celebrations on Friday. Instead, the president signaled a strategic shift in how the Philippines addresses the South China Sea dispute: recasting the waterway not as an arena of territorial conflict, but as a shared vulnerability that threatens every ASEAN nation.

MANILA — The Philippines is closely monitoring a newly discovered Chinese floating structure at Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal), fearing it could be a prelude to occupation and eventual militarization of the disputed atoll in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

The West Philippine Sea represents an ecological inheritance of immense value, a living laboratory of marine biodiversity that supports millions of livelihoods and contributes to global ocean health. Philippine research institutions have documented this richness with rigor and dedication, even as external pressures threaten the very ecosystems they study.

MANILA — The Philippines has firmly rejected China's aggressive deployment of a flotilla including its largest patrol vessel to waters east of Taiwan, calling the move an unlawful escalation that threatens regional stability and violates international maritime law. Beijing's decision to send the 10,000-tonne Haixun 09 and three (3) other vessels in response to Japan-Philippine maritime boundary negotiations represents a troubling pattern of coercive diplomacy that Manila has

MANILA, Philippines — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said on Tuesday that it is continuing the construction and enhancement of structures on Philippine‑held features in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), framing the work as part of efforts to support both troops and the local community.

MANILA — China’s foreign ministry has warned the Philippines not to use “geographical proximity” and a “large population of migrants” as a basis to interfere in another country’s internal affairs, underscoring its objections to Philippine comments framing Manila as inevitably drawn into any conflict over Taiwan.

MANILA, Philippines — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said the country should recognize that it is already in a “political war” with China in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), even if the conflict has not yet escalated into open kinetic hostilities. AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner, through his acting Deputy Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Arvin Lagamon, made the remark during a forum on AFP modernization organized by the Stratbase A. Romulo Institute and the Konrad‑Adena

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has gained visibility as a defender of sovereignty and security in Southeast Asia, particularly in the West Philippine Sea but remains far less associated with addressing regional and global problems, according to a foreign‑policy survey. This assessment comes from Dr. Alicor Panao, a political‑science and foreign‑policy expert, who analyzed findings from the 2025 Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI) Survey on ASEAN Dialogue Partn

MANILA, Philippines — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) reported monitoring 35 Chinese vessels across four (4) key features in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) from May 4 to 11, highlighting ongoing tensions in the area.

Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Spokesperson Tarriela asserted that the embassy's statement confirms Xiangyanghong 33 operated without consent near Recto Bank (Reed Bank) within the Philippines' 200-nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and continental shelf. Citing UNCLOS Article 246, he argued marine scientific research in a coastal state's EEZ requires that state's approval, which China lacks. He called China Coast Guard presence as unlawful and lacking jurisdiction.

President Marcos emphasized that the West Philippine Sea and South China Sea carries a large share of global trade and that freedom of navigation must be preserved, which he described as a core rationale for the proposed center.

During a maritime domain awareness (MDA) flight on Wednesday, a PCG Islander 4177 aircraft identified the Chinese research vessel Xiang Yang Hong 33 about 7.34 nautical miles west of Rozul Reef (Iroquois Reef). PCG also detected a Chinese oceanographic research vessel and more than 40 accompanying maritime militia‑type ships operating inside the country’s exclusive economic zone in the West Philippine Sea.

MANILA, Philippines — A private think tank on Sunday urged the government to accelerate energy projects under the Japan-led Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) instead of pursuing arrangements with other parties that could expose the Philippines to “geopolitical pressure.”

China has for years spent billions of dollars to build a “bluewater navy” capable of projecting power far beyond its own shores, a strategic direction that dates to President Xi Jinping’s assumption of leadership in 2012.

The defense chief also highlighted that it is China, not the Philippines, that continues to occupy disputed features such as Panganiban Reef (Mischief), which has been transformed into a Chinese‑controlled military‑civil installation in the Kalayaan Island Group (Spratly Islands). Manila’s position is that these features and the surrounding waters fall within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, as affirmed by the 2016 tribunal.

Article by F. Palafox Published on April 21, 2026 8:20AM MANILA, Philippines — The Stratbase Institute on Sunday voiced strong backing for the Philippines' largest-ever Balikatan exercises, urging deeper military ties with allies and a robust defense stance in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) as tensions with China escalate. ¹ Stratbase president and CEO Victor Andres “Dindo” Manhit hailed the April 20 to May 8 drills, involving over 17,000 troops from the Philippines, the US,

MANILA, Philippines — The 1Sambayan coalition insists that any joint energy exploration with foreign states in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) must explicitly affirm Philippine ownership of the oil and gas resources there.