MANILA — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), through the Philippine Navy, on Tuesday said it continues to monitor Chinese activities in Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal) in the West Philippine Sea following the reported presence of a movable floating platform in the area.

At a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo, Philippine Navy spokesperson Capt. Marissa Martinez said the country’s rights in the area are backed by the 2016 arbitral ruling issued by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.

“Based on the 2016 Arbitral (Ruling), it has ruled on it already that we assert our rights in that area. And just like what our President (Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.) had mentioned, not an inch. So, in relation to that, your Armed Forces of the Philippines continue to monitor it. Your AFP continues to document it and report it,” she said.

Martinez said the AFP maintains a whole-of-government approach in addressing developments in the West Philippine Sea, with different agencies assigned specific roles.

“So on the actions towards what is happening right now, it is a whole-of-government approach. There are different agencies that have their particular taskings in relation to that. But if we would answer it to what the Armed Forces is doing, and the PN particularly is doing, and the Philippine Air Force, we are continually monitoring, documenting, and reporting (it),” she added.

She declined to provide operational details, citing security concerns, and also refused to speculate on the nature or purpose of the reported floating platform, which was earlier described by the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea as a square structure with other unidentified objects such as buoys and antennas.

“It’s very hard to speculate already as of now; that’s why your Armed Forces is continuing monitoring it because we are of course studying it properly, investigating on it on the movements and the activities there because the data or whatever activities they are conducting there would definitely lead to the actions your Armed Forces to include the Task Force in charge of the WPS,” she said.

“Again, we would not like to make any speculations… without any further validations on this particular report, so these are all assumptions on your part, there are lots of assumptions that we could draw out from this one but rest assured the AFP is one with the other government agencies,” she added.

The AFP also reported that it monitored 26 Chinese vessels across key West Philippine Sea features from June 9 to 15.

Of the total, 14 vessels were observed in Bajo de Masinloc, including 10 China Coast Guard ships and four People’s Liberation Army Navy vessels. Five Chinese vessels were monitored in Escoda Shoal, three in Pag-asa Island, and three in Ayungin Shoal.