Philippines Investigates Alleged New Structure in South China Sea's Scarborough Shoal

(Central News Agency, Manila, June 3, Combined Foreign Reports) A Philippine task force said on Monday it is investigating reports of a new structure at Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, adding that it takes any developments that could affect the country's sovereignty seriously.

According to a Reuters report, Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro told reporters on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on May 30 that he had received raw information about a structure appearing at Scarborough Shoal. The area has been under de facto Chinese control since a standoff between China and the Philippines in 2012.

Teodoro said: "I don't know what it is yet, so I'm treating it as raw information. Sometimes they put buoys or other things there, or it could have drifted in from outside."

The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea said in a statement on Monday: "The Philippine government takes seriously any developments that may affect national sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction in the West Philippine Sea."

The West Philippine Sea is the term used by the Philippines for waters within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the South China Sea.

The task force said relevant government agencies are using monitoring tools to confirm the situation of the new structure. The statement also said the Philippines will remain steadfast in defending its maritime rights and upholding international law.

Neither Teodoro nor the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea provided further details. Images shared on Sunday by Sealight, a U.S.-based maritime monitoring organization, showed what appears to be a structure near the entrance of the atoll at Scarborough Shoal.

Scarborough Shoal is an important fishing ground, located 200 kilometers off the west coast of the Philippines and 874 kilometers from the nearest large landmass of China, Hainan Island.

The Chinese embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.