Philippines, China trade barbs amid floating barrier row

The Philippines vowed on Tuesday not to back down in the face of a Chinese effort to block its fishermen from a fiercely contested shoal in the South China Sea, while Beijing warned the Southeast Asian nation not to “provoke and cause trouble”.

The comments came a day after Manila cut a floating 300-m barrier installed by Beijing at the shoal, one of Asia’s most contested maritime features, making use of coastguard personnel posing as fishermen in a boat.“They might still return the barrier, they might still do shadowing and dangerous maneouvres,” the Philippine coastguard said.