The Chinese Embassy in Manila has confirmed that the movable floating structure observed near the entrance of 𝐁𝐚𝐣𝐨 𝐝𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐥𝐨𝐜 is owned by China, describing it as a 𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 platform developed by the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology.
The Embassy argued that the said scientific activities in the area are legitimate based on its territorial claims, even though this claim stands in contrast to the 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟔 𝐀𝐫𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, affirming that the waters fall within the 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬’ 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐙𝐨𝐧𝐞 (𝐄𝐄𝐙).
