Beijing yesterday warned Manila not to “stir up trouble” after the Philippine Coast Guard said it removed a floating barrier at a disputed reef that was allegedly deployed by China to block Filipino fishers from the area.
Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in the South China Sea has long been a source of tension between the nations. China seized the ring of reefs from the Philippines in 2012 and has since deployed patrol boats.
The latest spat was sparked by a 300m floating barrier that was found across the entrance of the shoal last week during a routine Philippine government resupply mission to fishers plying the waters near the shoal.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The Philippines condemned the installation and its coast guard announced on Monday that it had “successfully” removed the barrier from the reef, which Manila calls Bajo de Masinloc, in a special operation ordered by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
The Philippine Coast Guard yesterday said that it had cut a rope tethering the buoys to an anchor on the seabed, and hauled away the anchor, which allowed the line to drift.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) hit back yesterday, saying that Beijing “firmly upholds the sovereignty and maritime rights and interests of the Huangyan Island.”
“We advise the Philippines not to provoke or stir up trouble,” Wang said.
Philippine National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano said his nation was “well within its rights” to remove any barrier at the reef.
China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, despite a 2016 international court ruling that its stance has no legal basis.
The shoal, which Taiwan also claims, is 240km west of the Philippines’ main island of Luzon and nearly 900km from the nearest major Chinese land mass of Hainan.
Under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which China helped negotiate, nations have jurisdiction over the natural resources within about 200 nautical miles (370km) of their shore.
The Philippine Coast Guard on Monday released a video showing a man wearing snorkeling gear using a knife to sever a rope attached to white buoys, while another showed an anchor being hauled from the water into a wooden outrigger boat.
After the rope was cut, the Chinese government removed the barrier, Jay Tarriela, Philippine Coast Guard spokesman for the West Philippine Sea, told reporters yesterday.
The floating barrier had prevented fishing boats from entering the shoal’s shallow waters, where fish are more abundant.
Philippine officials previously accused the Chinese Coast Guard of installing the barrier before a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources resupply ship arrived at the shoal on Wednesday last week.
The Philippine Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday said that it would “take all appropriate measures to protect our country’s sovereignty and the livelihood of our fisherfolk,” without elaborating.
DETERRENCE: With 1,000 indigenous Hsiung Feng II and III missiles and 400 Harpoon missiles, the nation would boast the highest anti-ship missile density in the world With Taiwan wrapping up mass production of Hsiung Feng II and III missiles by December and an influx of Harpoon missiles from the US, Taiwan would have the highest density of anti-ship missiles in the world, a source said yesterday. Taiwan is to wrap up mass production of the indigenous anti-ship missiles by the end of year, as the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology has been meeting production targets ahead of schedule, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said. Combined with the 400 Harpoon anti-ship missiles Taiwan expects to receive from the US by 2028, the nation would have
North Korea tested nuclear-capable rocket launchers, state media reported yesterday, a day after Seoul detected the launch of about 10 ballistic missiles. The test comes after South Korean and US forces launched their springtime military drills, due to run until Thursday. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Saturday oversaw the testing of the multiple rocket launcher system (MRLS), the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The test involved 12 600mm-caliber ultra-precision multiple rocket launchers and two artillery companies, it said. Kim said the drill gave Pyongyang’s enemies, within the 420km striking range, a sense of “uneasiness” and “a deep understanding
North Korea yesterday fired about 10 ballistic missiles to the sea toward Japan, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, days after Pyongyang warned of “terrible consequences” over ongoing South Korea-US military drills. Pyongyang recently dashed hopes of a diplomatic thaw with Seoul, Washington’s security ally, describing its latest peace efforts as a “clumsy, deceptive farce.” Seoul’s military detected “around 10 ballistic missiles launched from the Sunan area in North Korea toward the East Sea [Sea of Japan] at around 1:20pm,” JCS said in a statement, referring to South Korea’s name for the body of water. The missiles
‘UNWAVERING FRIENDSHIP’: A representative of a Japanese group that co-organized a memorial, said he hopes Japanese never forget Taiwan’s kindness President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, urging continued cooperation between Taiwan and Japan on disaster prevention and humanitarian assistance. Lai wrote on social media that Taiwan and Japan have always helped each other in the aftermath of major disasters. The magnitude 9 earthquake struck northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, triggering a massive tsunami that claimed more than 19,000 lives, according to data from Japanese authorities. Following the disaster, Taiwan donated more than US$240 million in aid, making it one of the largest contributors of financial assistance to Japan. In addition to cash donations and
RSS