Philippines vows to block any structure at Panatag Shoal amid fears of Chinese expansion

⁨Article by J. Salazar

Published on June 17, 2026 5:30AM

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 West Philippine Sea's most sensitive 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 (3) weeks after satellite images first showed a possible floating platform there. ⁶

"We are not allowing that to happen. We're not allowing any structure there," military Public Affairs Office chief Col Xerxes Trinidad said during a media briefing. "And we have maintained our position that we will not be allowing any part to be given to a foreign nation. Not a single inch." ⁶

On whether the military would take action if a permanent structure were built at the location, Trinidad declined to elaborate, telling This Week in Asia (South China Morning Post) that such a scenario was "speculative." ⁶

Diplomatic protest and China's response

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs lodged a formal protest over the platform's "illegal presence" on June 9. In response, China's foreign ministry said Beijing had "indisputable sovereignty" over Panatag Shoal and its adjacent waters, and that its activities there, "including scientific research," were legitimate. ⁶

China urged the Philippines to stop what it called maritime infringements, provocations and "inflammatory hype." The Chinese Academy of Sciences' South China Sea Institute of Oceanology said it began a research mission at the shoal on May 20, deploying the floating platform for environmental monitoring and sampling to collect data on the shoal's geology and coral reefs' responses to environmental changes. ⁶

"Old playbook" concern

For some Philippine observers, the fact that such equipment could have scientific uses is part of what makes the deployment sensitive. Maritime law expert Jay Batongbacal warned that China was, in his view, "using the old playbook."

Batongbacal, director of the University of the Philippines Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, said marine science colleagues told him the equipment China had deployed appeared to be used for studying water currents and reef geology.

"And this is a concern for us because not only can the information derived from this equipment be used for legitimate marine science, but it can also be used to study essentially the shoal itself and its structure and the movement of the waters there, which can be useful as preparatory study for building a structure or perhaps even transforming the shoal into an artificial island," Batongbacal told ABS-CBN News Channel. ⁶

He argued the pattern recalled Beijing's earlier moves elsewhere in the contested waterway. "Now this raises a concern because back in the 1980s, China used marine science as an excuse to occupy Takang Bunod, which is now one of the three (3) big artificial islands with a military base on it in the South China Sea."

Bunol Bunod had also been occupied "on the pretext that they were only establishing fishermen's shelters," he said. "So the concern of course is that this is just another step. They're again using that old playbook of starting with ostensibly legitimate activities to establish incrementally, first regular, then permanent presence, which they will then use to eventually construct an artificial island."

China first built structures on Bunol Bunod in the mid-1990s, alarming Manila, which says the feature lies within its exclusive economic zone. Beijing said at the time that the structures were shelters for fishermen, while maintaining its sovereignty claims in the Kalayaan Island Group (Spratly Islands). The reef has since become one of Beijing's largest artificial island outposts in the South China Sea, a comparison Philippine defence officials have also invoked.

"We will not let this incident that happened in 1995 at Bunol Bunod – which started as a simple [fisherman's] shelter and in the end became a military base – happen again," Trinidad said. But he emphasised that any action by the armed forces would adhere to "a full government approach," which for now directed the military to continue documenting and monitoring China's activities there. ⁶

The House of Representatives declared over the weekend that the floating installation established by China in the waters of Panatag Shoal must be dismantled without delay. The lawmakers called on China to "immediately remove the floating platform from Panatag Shoal, cease all unauthorized activities within Philippine waters."

Security analyst warns of escalation risks

Geopolitical security analyst Chester Cabalza said the floating platform raised concern because of its location at Panatag Shoal and the wider pattern of Chinese activity in disputed waters. Cabalza, founding president of the Manila-based International Development and Security Cooperation think tank, said the Philippines still had "multipronged options," including diplomatic demarches and appeals to international law.

But he warned that any attempt to physically remove or disable the platform would carry serious risks. "Actual military strikes carry the immediate risk of escalating the Trojan horse into a full-scale regional conflict," Cabalza said. "The question is, are we ready for the consequences?"

Don McLain Gill, a geopolitical expert at De La Salle University's Department of International Studies, noted that the structures seemed to be "floating, temporary and movable." He urged Manila to "keep a close watch" on the developments, citing the example of Bunol Bunod.

"It is vital to continue monitoring. Any move by China to significantly alter the lay of land would have critical implications for our security given our sovereign rights over Bajo de Masinloc," Gill said, referring to Panatag Shoal by its earlier Spanish name.

Location and claims

Panatag Shoal, a triangular coral reef formation surrounding a lagoon, sits about 124 nautical miles (230 km, 143 miles) off the Philippine coast and about 874 km stretch from China's Hainan province.

A landmark 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration invalidated Beijing’s expansive claims in the South China Sea. Despite the tribunal’s decision rejecting the legal basis of these claims, China continues to assert sovereignty over the area, making it one of the most closely monitored flashpoints amid ongoing maritime tensions and territorial encroachments in the region. ⁴ ⁵

The Filipino name for the shoal is Panatag Shoal, Panacot, and/or Bajo de Masinloc; International name is Scarborough Shoal; while China refers to it as Huangyan Island. The Philippines asserts the shoal falls within its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ). ³

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Notes:

¹ This Week in Asia South China Morning Post. "Philippines vows to block structures at Scarborough Shoal amid fears of Chinese expansion". https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3356698/mystery-platform-china-says-it-was-carrying-out-research-scarborough-shoal

² PhilStar: "Remove floating platform in Panatag Shoal, China told". https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2026/06/15/2535260/remove-floating-platform-panatag-shoal-china-told

³ Reuters: "Philippines slams China's plan for nature reserve in disputed shoal". https://www.reuters.com/world/china/philippines-slams-chinas-plan-nature-reserve-disputed-shoal-2025-09-11/

⁴ Reuters: "Explainer: What is the Scarborough Shoal and what is China planning there?". https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/what-is-scarborough-shoal-what-is-china-planning-there-2025-09-11/

⁵ Britannica: "What are the Philippines' claims to Scarborough Shoal?". https://www.britannica.com/question/What-are-the-Philippines-claims-to-Scarborough-Shoal

⁶ South China Morning Post: "Mystery platform? China says it was carrying out research at Scarborough Shoal". https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3356698/mystery-platform-china-says-it-was-carrying-out-research-scarborough-shoal