China has built a floating barrier hundreds of meters long near the disputed Scarborough Reef. It prevents Filipino fishermen from entering the island nation’s exclusive economic zone.
According to Philippine officials, China has set up a “floating barrier” in a disputed area in the South China Sea. Officials said the 300-meter-long floating chain, 230 kilometers west of the Philippines’ northwest coast, prevents fishermen from entering the area, which is inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
The obstacle was discovered during a routine patrol in the southeastern part of Scarborough Reef, also known as Bajo de Massinlac, in the Philippines. “The Philippine Coast Guard and the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources strongly condemn the Chinese Coast Guard’s installation of a floating barrier in the southeastern part of Bajo de Masinloc,” a Coast Guard spokesperson wrote on Platform X. The barrier is said to pose a threat to the livelihood of fishermen and there is a risk of boats’ propellers getting stuck in it.
China claims the islands
Both China and the Philippines claim Scarborough Reef. It was the focus of a military incident between the two countries in 2012, after which Beijing quickly occupied the reef. Although a court ruled in 2016 that China’s historic rights to the area were invalid, Beijing did not recognize the ruling.
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