China warns PH not to 'stir up trouble'

BEIJING warned Manila on Tuesday not to «stir up trouble» after the Philippine Coast Guard said it had removed a floating barrier at a disputed reef that was allegedly deployed by China to block Filipinos from the traditional fishing ground.

Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea has long been a source of tension between the countries. China seized the ring of reefs from the Philippines in 2012 and has since deployed patrol boats to keep out Filipino fishermen.

The latest spat was sparked by a 300-meter (328-yard) floating barrier that was found across the entrance of the shoal last week during a routine Philippine government resupply mission to Filipino fishermen plying the waters near the shoal.

The Philippines condemned the installation and its coast guard announced on Monday that it had «successfully» removed the barrier from the reef, which Manila calls Bajo de Masinloc, in a special operation ordered by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin hit back on Tuesday, saying Beijing «firmly upholds the sovereignty and maritime rights and interests of the Huangyan Island,» referring to the shoal by its Chinese name.

«We advise the Philippines not to provoke or stir up trouble,» Wang added.

«China has indisputable sovereignty over the island and its adjacent waters and sovereign rights and jurisdiction over relevant waters,» Wang said in a statement shared by the Chinese Embassy in Manila.

He noted that on September 22, «a vessel of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources of the Philippines, without China's permission, intruded into the adjacent waters of Huangyan Dao and attempted to enter its lagoon.»

«China Coast Guard did what was necessary to block and drive away the Philippine