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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.
MANILA: The Philippines said on Monday it executed a "special operation" to remove a floating barrier installed by China at a prime fishing patch in the South China Sea, a move that could stoke tension after a years-long detente in Asia's most disputed waters. The Philippines expressed outrage on Sunday and shared images of Chinese coastguard policing a long, ball-buoy barrier near the Scarborough Shoal, a rocky outcrop 200km from the Philippines and the site of years of intermittent flare-ups over sovereignty and fishing rights."The barrier posed a hazard to navigation, a clear violation of international law.
MANILA: The Philippines said on Tuesday there were no signs of a standoff at a fiercely contested, China-held shoal in the South China Sea, a day after its coastguard severed a floating barrier installed by Beijing to block its fishermen. China's coastguard had even removed remnants of the ball-buoy barrier from the Scarborough Shoal, a Philippine coastguard spokesperson said, adding Beijing was measured in its response to the presence of the vessel, which reached its closest point to the strategic atoll since China seized it in 2012. With coastguard personnel posing as fishermen in a small boat, the Philippines said on Monday it executed a "special operation" to cut the 300-m (980-ft) barrier at the shoal, one of Asia's most contested maritime features, a move that could further strain ties that have deteriorated in the past year. Coastguard spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela said four Chinese vessels were in the area when a Philippine ship approached and were "not that aggressive", adding it was clear media were on board the Philippine ship.
The Philippine coastguard has removed a “floating barrier” installed by China in a disputed area in the South China Sea, calling it a “decisive action” in “upholding international law”.
The Philippines says it has removed a floating barrier installed by China to block Philippine fishing boats entering a contested area in the South China Sea.
The appearance of numerous Chinese fishing vessels in the South China Sea shortly after China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels employed water cannons against a Philippine ship suggests that China's contentious maritime militia might become active should a conflict arise involving Beijing, Manila, and the US-led coalition, reported The Eurasian Times.Recently, the US, Australia, and Japan announced joint exercises in the South China Sea in response to the August 5 incident, during which six CCG ships, along with the fishing militia that often operates as China's quasi-military and unofficial maritime border management arm, obstructed two Philippine Navy-chartered civilian vessels delivering supplies to Philippine forces stationed at the Second Thomas Shoal.Images posted on X (formerly Twitter) on August 16 depicted a substantial gathering of fishing vessels, potentially numbering in the hundreds, in the South China Sea, navigating around a cluster of small islands. Scholars and observers of China have long studied this maritime militia, which has been deployed in prior disputes with Vietnam and the Philippines over contested territories.
The Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam have rejected as baseless a map released by China that denotes its claims to sovereignty including in the South China Sea and which Beijing said on Thursday should be viewed rationally and objectively. China released the map on Monday of its famous U-shaped line covering about 90% of the South China Sea, a source of many of the disputes in one of the world's most contested waterways, where more than $3 trillion of trade passes each year. The Philippines called on China on Thursday "to act responsibly and abide by its obligations" under international law and a 2016 arbitral ruling that had declared the line had no legal grounds. Malaysia said it had filed a diplomatic protest over the map.