Global Courant
MANILA (Reuters) -The Philippines will take “all appropriate measures to remove barriers” in a disputed area of the South China Sea, the country’s national security adviser said on Monday.
The Philippines on Sunday shared images of a floating barrier blocking the entry of fishing vessels in the Scarborough Shoal with Chinese coast guard vessels nearby, saying it would protect the rights of their fishermen.
“We condemn the installation of floating barriers by the Chinese Coast Guard,” National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said in a statement.
“The PRC’s installation of a barrier violates the traditional fishing rights of our fishermen,” he added.
The country’s Foreign Ministry said Monday that the barriers are a violation of international law and that the Philippines “will take all appropriate measures to protect the sovereignty of our country and the livelihoods of our fishermen.”
The Chinese embassy in Manila did not respond to requests for comment.
China claims 90% of the South China Sea, overlapping with the exclusive economic zones of Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines. Beijing captured the Scarborough Shoal in 2012, forcing fishermen from the Philippines to travel further for smaller catches.
Personnel from the Philippine Coast Guard and Fisheries Bureau discovered the floating barrier, estimated to be 1,000 feet (300 meters) long, during a routine patrol on Friday near the shoal, locally known as Bajo de Masinloc, according to Commodore Jay Tarriela, a coast guard spokesman.
“We have to be very careful (not to commit a diplomatic misstep),” Tarriela said in a radio interview on Monday before the government’s comments, when asked if the coast guard planned to remove the barrier.
Tarriela said that according to Filipino fishermen, the Chinese coast guard usually installs such barriers when monitoring a large number of fishermen in the area and removes them later.
(Reporting by Enrico dela Cruz; Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor)
