Photos Show China Structures in Disputed Territory
Philippine authorities have released images of structures at a disputed reef they believe were placed there by China.
The number of newly identified foreign objects has grown to six since the first structure was reported inside Scarborough Shoal’s lagoon on May 30, a Philippine coast guard spokesperson said on Wednesday.
Scarborough Shoal-known as Bajo de Masinloc in the Philippines and Huangyan Island in China-is one of the most sensitive flashpoints in the South China Sea dispute.
Beijing has exercised de facto control over the feature since a tense standoff in 2012, but has so far not physically occupied it.
“We flew planes over Bajo de Masinloc, or Scarborough Shoal, to see what structures are being built there-whether it’s a floating structure or a fixed structure,” Philippine military chief Romeo Brawner Jr. told reporters Tuesday in Quezon City. “We will also send ships.”
The newly identified objects under investigation by Manila include an antenna mounted atop a rock near the lagoon entrance, a second suspected antenna, a floating structure, an unidentified cylindrical object and three buoys, adding to two that were discovered there in October.
Another object-a mobile, makeshift structure estimated to measure roughly 20 by 20 feet and carrying six occupants-is also being monitored, Brawner said.
China has previously deployed barriers-later removed by Philippine personnel-to block local fishermen from entering the lagoon of the rich fishing ground. The apparent proliferation of structures there, particularly those carrying personnel, could further complicate Manila’s territorial dispute with Beijing.
The Philippine Foreign Affairs Department said it took “appropriate diplomatic action” with the Chinese government regarding the “illegal presence” of the structures, according to a statement from the interagency task force for West Philippine Sea, Manila’s term for the part of the South China Sea that lies within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
An exclusive economic zone extends roughly 230 miles from a country’s coastline, within which it enjoys exclusive rights to exploit marine resources.
Beijing has not denied Philippine claims that the objects are Chinese in origin, instead reiterating its longstanding claim to Scarborough Shoal.
“China has indisputable sovereignty over Huangyan Dao and its adjacent waters. It is fully within China’s sovereign rights to carry out activities including scientific research at Huangyan Dao,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters Tuesday.
“China urges the Philippines to stop all infringement activities, provocations and false accusations at sea,” Lin said.
Newsweek reached out to the Philippine military by email with requests for comment.
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Overlapping Claims in the South China Sea
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Tensions around Scarborough Shoal escalated sharply again last summer when a Chinese navy destroyer and a China coast guard vessel collided while attempting to block a Philippine government mission to supply local fishermen.
The coast guard ship sustained heavy damage, and Philippine officials later said they believed the incident resulted in Chinese casualties, though Beijing did not publicly confirmed any.
Just weeks later, Beijing declared a national nature reserve covering roughly one-third of the shoal, drawing protests from both Manila and Washington.
The newly discovered objects have raised questions over whether China plans to consolidate its control over the area.
“The same modus operandi we see replicated in the South China Sea, East China Sea, and Yellow Sea,” Collin Koh, a senior fellow at the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies in Singapore, wrote on X. “In this case, given a ‘national nature reserve’ was unilaterally declared by Beijing, the floating structure may portend more escalatory moves aimed at cementing its control.”
Citing what it describes as “historic rights,” China claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion in annual maritime trade.
The presence of Chinese coast guard, naval, research and maritime militia vessels in disputed waters has also drawn protests from Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia.
The Philippines brought its case before a panel at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, which in 2016 issued a ruling that largely rejected China’s sweeping claims in the South China Sea. Beijing rejected the verdict and continues to disregard the decision.
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This story was originally published June 10, 2026 at 7:59 AM.