Philippine authorities say a Chinese floating platform located inside Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea may be supporting unauthorized marine scientific research. Officials from the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) report that the platform appeared in late May and that Chinese research vessels continue to operate near the disputed shoal. The authorities presented a timeline of observations and said the platform’s presence, together with nearby vessels and what they described as data-gathering activities, suggests research-related activity. Philippine officials characterized the activity as “illegal scientific research” in Bajo de Masinloc (Panatag) but did not provide further technical details in the reports summarized here. The claims are based on monitoring and observations by Philippine agencies, including the continued appearance of Chinese research vessels in the area. The outlets do not include a response from China or the operators of the platform or vessels in the provided text.