Commercial satellite imagery has captured an unidentified object near the lagoon entrance of Bajo de Masinloc, also known as Scarborough Shoal, raising questions about whether China has installed a new structure at the disputed reef in the South China Sea.
Imagery obtained through geospatial analytics platform SkyFi, analyzed by SeaLight, a maritime transparency initiative at Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, shows a small, reflective object less than 10 meters (32 feet) in diameter at the southern entrance of the shoal’s lagoon. SeaLight said it cannot determine whether the object is fixed to the reef or floating.
🚨 SEALIGHT EXCLUSIVE: Commercial satellite imagery shows the “possible structure” at #ScarboroughShoal referenced over the weekend by 🇵🇭Philippine Defense Secretary Gibo Teodoro
On 30 May while at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Secretary Teodoro said the #Philippines is reviewing… pic.twitter.com/1QjDJJ5hAw
— SeaLight (@SeaLightFound) June 2, 2026
Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore that the government has “raw information” pointing to a possible Chinese structure at the shoal. “We’re not even sure if it’s a structure,” he said, adding that buoys and other floating objects have occasionally appeared in the area. The National Task Force for West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) and the National Maritime Council (NMC) are leading verification efforts, with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in support.
SeaLight Director Ray Powell said a confirmed fixed installation would raise questions about China’s compliance with the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, which calls for self-restraint on uninhabited features. “History shows that small structures on previously uninhabited features are rarely endpoints for China,” Powell said.
The AFP tracked 82 People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLA-N) and China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in May, with 39 concentrated around Bajo de Masinloc. Chinese maritime presence at the shoal was unusually high between May 26 and June 1, a period that overlapped with the first-ever joint U.S.-Philippine maritime patrol near the shoal. AFP spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Roy Vincent Trinidad said the elevated Chinese presence “is a reaction to” that joint activity.
The joint patrol, which ran May 26 to 30, included U.S. Coast Guard Legend-class cutter USCGC Midgett (WMSL-757) and Philippine Jose Rizal-class frigate BRP Antonio Luna (FFG-15), marking the first known deployment of a U.S. Coast Guard vessel alongside Philippine forces near Scarborough Shoal.
AFP chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said the military monitored a suspected structure measuring approximately six by six square meters inside the shoal. “We’re still investigating whether it’s floating or fixed,” he said. The AFP confirmed no dredging activity has been detected. Verification efforts are ongoing.
