Philippines vows to remove floating barrier placed by China at lagoon

Manila: The Philippine coast guard said Monday it has complied with a presidential order to remove a floating barrier placed by China’s coast guard to prevent Filipino fishing boats from entering a lagoon in a disputed shoal in the South China Sea.

Philippine officials condemned the installation of the 300-metre (980-foot) -long barrier at the entrance to the lagoon at Scarborough Shoal as a violation of international law and their Southeast Asian nation’s sovereignty.

The Philippine coast guard’s report that it has removed the barrier underscores intensifying Philippine efforts to fight China’s increasingly aggressive actions, against many odds, in one of the world’s most hotly contested waters.

Chinese coast guard vessels laid the rope and net barrier, held up by buoys, last week as a Philippine government

fisheries vessel approached and more than 50 Philippine fishing boats swarmed outside the shoal, the Philippine coast guard said.

The Philippine coast guard said in a statement Monday night that it has successfully removed the floating barrier in a “special operation” in compliance with the order of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

It did not provide other details like if the entire barrier was removed and when, and how Chinese coast guard ships, which have closely guarded the shoal for years, reacted.

“The decisive action of the Philippine coast guard to remove the barrier aligns with international law and the

Philippines’ sovereignty over the shoal,” the coast guard said.