The Manila Times

AFP chief confirms presence of mysterious structure in Bajo de Masinloc

MANILA, Philippines — A moving structure manned by six men was spotted by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in Bajo de Masinloc in an aerial surveillance proving the presence of an alleged illegal construction being done in the contested waters, AFP chief Gen. Romeo S. Brawner Jr. said. “It’s a six by six structure, sa tingin natin may antenna siya, tapos dun sa latest image na nakuha nung ating Air Force na lumipad over Bajo de Masinloc may mga tao sa taas may anim na tao dun sa structure na yun,” Brawner told reporters in an interview. (It's a six by six structure, we think it has an antenna, and then in the latest image that our Air Force took that flew over Bajo de Masinloc, there are people on top, there are six people in that structure." Their exact purpose however wasn’t established yet, Brawner said. Brawner said authorities are still studying the structure that was served to have moved from the entrance of the lagoon all the way inside Bajo de Masinloc. “If it is a floating structure or a fixed structure eh kailangan makita talga natin,” Brawner said. To further look into the alleged construction, the AFP will deploy navy and coast guard ships to investigate the area. Brawner however said the Philippines is not inclined to dealing with the matter militarily. Being a defensive country, the government will resort to exhausting all available diplomatic means to protect its territory. Among the Philippines’ moves is the Department of Foreign Affairs’ filing of a demarche or a formal diplomatic or political initiative where one country can request or protest a specific action from another government. The Philippines is also already in talks with defense partners who are also concerned with the movements in the West Philippine Sea. “Hindi natin papayagan na maulit ‘yung nangyari noon na may tinayo na isang maliit na structure, later on lumaki na siya into an artificial island. Hindi tayo papayag dito sa Scarborough Shoal,” Brawner said. (We will not allow a repeat of what happened in the past where a small structure was built which later on grew into an artificial island. We will not allow this here at Scarborough Shoal.) Brawner however said he could not say yet whether the discovery of an alleged structure already constitutes the “red line” set by the government. Over the past week, US maritime monitoring group SeaLight shared satellite images of a small reflective object clearly distinguishable on the reef flat near the lagoon entrance. The structure is “a persistent feature,” according to SeaLight. It is located at or near the lagoon entrance. SeaLight however has yet to conclude whether the structure was fixed, a reef‑mounted marker, a buoy‑type device, a monitoring instrument or another type of object.

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