A decade after the landmark 2016 Arbitral Award invalidated China’s expansive South China Sea claims, Beijing has only consolidated its illegal presence at the Scarborough Shoal (Bajo de Masinloc). During the January-April 2026 period, China concentrated much of its maritime activity around the shoal – culminating in the installation of a new floating structure in May – while sustaining steady deployments across other key features in the West Philippine Sea, the portion of the South China Sea within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ). At the same time, Manila held its position: continuing fisheries support and law-enforcement patrols, conducting a marine scientific research mission in the Kalayaan Island Group, and hosting an expanding roster of allied navies for exercises. Beijing’s deployment of a “floating structure” at Scarborough Shoal defined the quarter. This assessment draws on a quarterly monitoring report by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) based on AIS tracking, satellite imagery, physical monitoring, and maritime domain awareness patrols, corroborated where possible with open-source reporting from February through May 2026.