The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) confirmed on Tuesday, Oct. 14, that the Philippine Navy (PN) destroyed an erected steel structure in Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough or Panatag Shoal) in 1997, following an unauthorized construction attempt by Chinese forces.

This should serve as a reminder for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) not to build new structures, AFP spokesperson for West Philippine Sea Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, amid reported sighting of new man-made structures on the shoal during a maritime domain awareness flight of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

Trinidad said the military has received initial reports of structures possibly made of wooden or concrete materials inside the lagoon but noted that these may be related to earlier incidents involving the covert placement of building materials in the area.

“We have received reports of certain structures underwater which we are verifying,” Trinidad told reporters at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City. “But we have to understand that in the past, in 1997, there was an attempt to erect a steel structure by the Chinese Communist Party which was blown up by our Philippine Navy forces.”

An MDA flight on Monday, Oct. 13, revealed that wooden-like structures were apparently visible in certain areas of Bajo de Masinloc, located 124 nautical miles off Masinloc, Zambales, where Beijing plans to build a “national nature reserve”.

Trinidad said that previous accounts also indicated the presence of concrete blocks within the shoal, though these were later found to be remnants from the time when Bajo de Masinloc was used as a bombing range by the United States Air Force, United States Navy, and the Philippine Air Force, before tensions in the area escalated.

“Nevertheless, we are checking the latest report that these structures were noticed, were spotted. They could be remnants of the old structures that were there on Bajo de Masinloc,” he said.

Earlier this month, PCG Commandant Adm. Ronnie Gil Gavan hinted about possible reclamation activities by China during a recent engagement with the media aboard the BRP Gabriela Silang.

“It’s possible,” Gavan said. “I don’t want to… There are things that only the National Maritime Council can answer,” he added, without giving further details.

The AFP said it was coordinating closely with the PCG and the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) to verify the nature and purpose of the newly sighted structures.