Marcos says Philippines is not looking for trouble but will defend waters against Chinese aggression

The Philippine president said Friday that his country does not want a confrontation but will staunchly defend its waters after its coast guard removed a floating barrier placed by China at a disputed shoal in the South China Sea.

It was the first time President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has spoken publicly against China's installation of the 300-meter (980-foot) -long barrier at the entrance to Scarborough Shoal which was dismantled at his order.

"We're not looking for trouble but what we’ll do is to continue defending the maritime territory of the Philippines and the rights of our fishermen, who have been fishing in those areas for hundreds of years,” Marcos said in response to a question at a news briefing in southern Surigao del Norte province.

The latest flare-up between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea, one of the world’s busiest trade routes, comes after Marcos decided earlier this year to allow an expansion of the U.S. military presence in the Philippines under a 2014 defense pact. The prospect of more American forces in local military camps in the northern Philippines across from Taiwan and southern China alarmed and infuriated Beijing.

After the Philippine coast guard dismantled the rope and net barrier at the mouth of Scarborough Shoal, Filipino fishing boats entered the shallow lagoon and caught about 164 tons of fish in just one day, Marcos said.

“That's what our fishermen lose, so there should not be a barrier there and it’s clear the area is within the Philippines,” he said. “Our fishermen have been fishing in those areas for hundreds of years so I can’t understand why that has changed."

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a news briefing in Beijing on Wednesday that the shoal “is China's inherent territory."

"What the Philippines (has) done is nothing but a farce that entertains itself. China will continue to safeguard the territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests of Huangyan Island,” he said, using the Chinese name for Scarborough.

Although Marcos has tried to nurture normal ties with China, the long-simmering territorial disputes have put the Asian neighbors on a potential collision course, with