Mystery platform? China says it was carrying out research at Scarborough Shoal

China said it had carried out a scientific expedition in Scarborough Shoal, amid renewed confrontation with the Philippines over the disputed South China Sea atoll. The research mission – which began on May 20 – involved deploying a floating platform for environmental monitoring and sampling, the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ South China Sea Institute of Oceanology said in a statement on Wednesday. It came after Manila lodged a formal diplomatic protest on Tuesday against what it called the...