Bea Cupin walks you through what we know about the floating platform inside Bajo de Masinloc and what experts and even military officials are most afraid of.
MANILA, Philippines – Inside Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal it floats on a platform that Philippine officials say can hold six people, once had an antenna, and a fender around it.
Philippine security officials believe it is for scientific research into the populous shoal, whose access Beijing has controlled since 2012. China itself has hinted as much, insisting in a statement that since the shoal is claimed as theirs, they have the right to conduct scientific research.
But experts, analysts, and other military officials are more concerned, because the platform inside Bajo de Masinloc creates the “nightmares” of Mischief (Panganiban) Reef, where what Beijing claimed was a fishing port eventually developed into a embattled fake island more than 130 miles from the Philippines.
Bea Cupin walks you through what we know about the floating platform and what experts and even military officials fear most. – Rappler.com
