Remnants seen in Bajo de Masinloc are of PH-built structure - Navy official

MANILA, October 23 ------ Remnants of structures found at Bajo de Masinloc, or Scarborough Shoal, are part of the Philippines' past attempts to build there, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said.

Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, Philippine Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, said the structures were part of earlier Philippine efforts in the area in the 1980s and 1990s. “This was not established or built by any foreign power on Scarborough Shoal,” Trinidad said in a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

The structures — located in the northern portion of Bajo de Masinloc — were spotted during maritime domain awareness (MDA) flights conducted by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) last week. Trinidad, however, did not share more details pertaining to structural debris. He added that the military is focused on ongoing projects in the West Philippine Sea, particularly in the nine features already occupied by the Philippines in the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG). “I’ll have to check on other projects of the government, of the AFP, on Scarborough Shoal. But for now, the effort is on what is already budgeted and being executed in our projects in the West Philippine Sea, in our nine features,” he said.

Bajo de Masinloc, which is located 124 nautical miles west of mainland Zambales, is well within the country’s 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone. On the other hand, it is 472 nautical miles from Hainan Province, China’s nearest land mass. The shoal, however, has been under Beijing’s control since 2012.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com