U.S. monitoring Chinese activity in South China Sea around disputed shoal

Exclusive Politics U.S. monitoring Chinese activity in South China Sea around disputed shoal By James LaPorta, James LaPorta National security coordinating producer James LaPorta is the national security coordinating producer for the CBS News' Washington bureau. He is a former U.S. Marine veteran infantryman and veteran of the Afghanistan war. Read Full Bio James LaPorta, Olivia Gazis Olivia Gazis Olivia Gazis covers intelligence and international security matters for CBS News. Twice Emmy-nominated, she has traveled worldwide with the secretary of state and contributes reporting on intelligence, foreign policy and other security topics across CBS News broadcast, radio, online and streaming platforms. Read Full Bio Olivia Gazis June 11, 2026 / 1:49 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Washington — U.S. intelligence agencies are closely monitoring activity at a disputed shoal in the South China Sea amid growing concerns that China may be laying the groundwork for a more permanent presence at one of the region's most volatile maritime flash points, a move that could further inflame tensions with the Philippines and test Washington's commitment to a treaty ally. Analysts are scrutinizing a series of recent Chinese maritime operations near Scarborough Shoal, an uninhabited but strategically located atoll roughly 140 miles west of the Philippine island of Luzon, according to U.S. officials familiar with the intelligence who spoke to CBS News under condition of anonymity to discuss national security issues. The officials said the Chinese government installed what Beijing has called a "scientific structure" in the middle of the reef, which has angered the Philippines in the disputed atoll. The U.S. engaged the Chinese government over the structure. The People's Liberation Army, the military wing of the Chinese Communist Party, claimed the structure was not military, but Chinese officials also did not fully disavow that some element within the structure c...