The Philippine and U.S. governments are monitoring and protesting the latest form of the Chinese government’s longtime incursions in the Philippine exclusive economic zone—the zone of waters near the Philippines over which the country is by international agreement supposed to exercise sovereign rights.
The CCP continues to ignore EEZ boundaries at will, this time by building an apparently military structure, a floating platform, within Scarborough Shoal (CBS News, June 11, 2026).
Beijing “has maintained a near-constant pressure around [the Scarborough Shoal] after seizing de facto control in a tense 2012 standoff.” Also de jure control if, as it claims whenever it crowds another country, Beijing is the ultimate determining authority.
Some U.S. officials worry that recent activity could represent another incremental step in China’s long-running effort to consolidate control over disputed features across the South China Sea—a view shared by Philippine officials.
Philippine authorities disclosed the presence of a floating structure inside Scarborough Shoal earlier this week. In a statement released Tuesday, the Philippine government’s National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea said aerial surveillance had identified a 6-by-6-meter floating platform equipped with what appeared to be an antenna. Recent imagery also shows personnel standing atop the structure, while monitoring by the Philippine Coast Guard indicated the platform was operating inside the shoal.
“The Department of Foreign Affairs has already undertaken appropriate diplomatic action with the government of the People’s Republic of China in connection with the illegal presence of this floating structure,” the task force said, adding that Philippine agencies were assessing the “nature, purpose, and implications” of the installation.
China rejected Philippine objections, maintaining that the platform is located in an area under its control….
“Huangyan Dao [the Scarborough Shoal] has always been China’s territory….”
The People’s Liberation Army says, scout’s honor, that the platform and antenna have no military purpose. Not reassuring in light of how Beijing has “transformed several reefs and outcroppings in the Spratly Islands into fortified artificial islands equipped with airfields, deep-water ports, radar systems and military sites.”
Retired U.S. Navy Admiral John Aquilino: “Over the past twenty years we’ve witnessed the largest military buildup since World War II by the PRC.”
Everybody knows what is happening. Formal protests have had no effect. The only real deterrent has been continued military presence and careful intermittent resistance by the Philippine, U.S., and other military forces in the region. These efforts sometimes stop Beijing from escalating. But they do not seem to have ever proved sufficient to compel any departure from or rolling back of PLA-established outposts in the South China Sea.
