The Philippines has asked China to remove a floating structure that it has monitored in a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, as tensions between the two nations flare up anew.
Rogelio Villanueva Jr., spokesman for maritime affairs at the Philippines¡¯ Department of Foreign Affairs, made the call during a briefing on Wednesday, describing the structure as ¡°semi-permanent.¡±
Aerial monitoring by several agencies in the Philippines earlier confirmed the presence of a six-by-six meter floating structure with what appears to be an antenna within the Scarborough Shoal. That¡¯s prompted Manila to issue Beijing several demarches and a formal protest against the structure.
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