The Philippines says there is no confrontation with China after the removal of the floating barrier in the South China Sea

MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines said on Tuesday there were no signs of a confrontation in a Chinese-controlled shoal in the South China Sea, a day after the Philippine Coast Guard destroyed a floating barrier erected by Beijing to block its sovereignty over the waters. Hunters.

A Philippine Coast Guard spokesman said the Chinese Coast Guard removed the remains of the spherical buoy barrier from Scarborough Shoal Island, adding that Beijing was measured in its response to the presence of the ship, which had reached its closest point to the strategic atoll since its seizure by China. In 2012.

The Philippines said on Monday it had carried out a “special operation” to cut a 300-metre-high shoal barrier, one of the most controversial in Asia, with coast guard personnel posing as fishermen on a small boat. Marine featuresThis is a step that may further strain relations that have deteriorated in the past year.

Coast Guard spokesman Commodore Jay Tarella said four Chinese ships were in the area when a Filipino ship approached and they were not “that aggressive,” adding that it was clear the media was on board the Filipino ship.

Tarella told DWPM Radio that the Chinese removed the barrier a few hours after discovering that it was no longer aligned and blocking the lake.

“They may continue to bring the floating barrier back, they may continue to do tracking and dangerous maneuvers again,” he told CNN Philippines, adding that the Philippines “will not back down” and will maintain its presence at sea.

Scarborough Shoal, a major fishing area located about 200 kilometers off the Philippines and within its exclusive economic zone, has been the site of decades of intermittent sovereignty disputes.

China did not directly refer to the barrier on Monday, but its Foreign Ministry said that the Coast Guard moved on Friday to repel a Filipino ship that had undoubtedly “intruded” into Chinese waters. The Japanese government urged restraint.

The Philippines and China have repeatedly quarreled over the shoals, but under the previous pro-China administration in Manila, tension It has been reduced for several years.

But relations have soured this year, as new President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who authorized the severing of the cordon, seeks to strengthen ties with his ally the United States.

These efforts included giving the US military expanded access to Philippine bases.

The two countries’ ships have encountered each other several times this year elsewhere in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, such as Second Thomas Shoal.

There, Manila accused China of serious and aggressive actions in blocking resupply missions for a handful of troops stationed on a rusty warship.

China says the occupation is illegal.

Late Monday, Chinese nationalist newspaper Global Times published an article citing an expert saying that Philippine decision-makers are acting under the influence of a United States intent on inciting conflicts in the South China Sea to contain Beijing.

Control of the shoal, located about 850 kilometers off mainland China, is a sensitive issue for Beijing, which over the past decade has maintained a constant presence of coast guard vessels and fishing vessels there.

The outcrop featured in a case brought by the Philippines to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, which ruled in 2016 that China’s claim to most of the South China Sea had no basis under international law.

China does not recognize the ruling.

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