China removes “floating platform” near Bajo de Masinloc
China has removed the controversial “floating platform” that the Philippines discovered near the disputed shoal in the West Philippine Sea, a Philippine security task force said.
Footage from the Philippine Coast Guard during a Maritime Domain Awareness flight caught a Chinese research vessel towing the “floating platform.”
Manuel Mogato | June 18, 2026
MANILA — China has removed the controversial “floating platform” that the Philippines discovered near the disputed shoal in the West Philippine Sea, a Philippine security task force said.
In a statement, the National Security Council’s National Task Force-West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) said it had confirmed the structure had been dismantled and removed a week after it was discovered near Bajo de Masinloc (BdM).
The NTF-WPS said the military and coast guard will continue routine maritime patrols and other “lawful presence activities” to secure Bajo de Masinloc, even if China has imposed a 30 nautical miles buffer zone around the shoal.
The task force also demanded that all foreign entities abide by international law and cease actions that infringe upon Philippine sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction. (Also read: Chinese platform near Bajo de Masinloc poses a security threat)
“The Philippines remains fully committed to protecting its territorial integrity, upholding the rules-based international order, and defending its legitimate entitlements,” it added.
The Philippines filed a diplomatic protest against China after it discovered the floating platform near the shoal, only 115 miles west of Zambales.
“While we take note of the removal, we reiterate our principled and unyielding position: BdM is and will always be an integral part of Philippine territory,” the NTF-WPS said.
“The Philippines has indivisible, incontrovertible and longstanding sovereignty over BdM exercised through its continuous, uninterrupted sovereignty and jurisdiction as demonstrated by detailed surveys, official government correspondences, cartographic records and consistent acts of administration that have gone uninterrupted for centuries.”
The NTF-WPS said only the Philippines has the right to place or construct structures, and conduct activities, including marine scientific research, in BdM and its territorial sea.