TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Philippine Coast Guard on Monday (Sept. 25) posted video footage showing one of its divers use a knife to cut a floating barrier erected by China in a contested shoal in the South China Sea.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Jay Tarriela on Sunday (Sept. 24) said on X (formerly Twitter) that China had laid a 300-meter floating barrier at the Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island), a triangle-shaped chain of reefs and rocks claimed by China, the Philippines, and Taiwan.
Tarriela said PCG personnel had discovered the buoy barrier in the southeast portion of Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal) during a routine patrol on Friday (Sept. 22). He condemned the obstruction for preventing Filipino fishing vessels from entering the shoal and "depriving them of their fishing and livelihood activities."
National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano on Monday issued a statement saying the "Philippines "will take all appropriate actions to cause the removal of the barriers and to protect the rights of our fishermen in the area," reported The Manila Times.
During a press conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) claimed "Huangyan Dao has always been China's territory." Wang alleged that the Philippines' Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources had "intruded into the waters adjacent" and the Chinese Coast Guard "did what was necessary to block and drive away the Philippine vessel."
On Monday evening, Tarriela posted on X that Ano had directed the PCG to conduct a "special operation" to remove the barrier. Tarriela wrote the barrier "posed a hazard to navigation, and was a clear violation of international law."
Tarriela said that in 2016 the Arbitral Award ruled in favor of the Philippines. He argued that any obstruction that hindered the livelihoods of Filipnhio fishermen on the shoal violates international law and infringes on Philippine sovereignty.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled in 2016 that China has "no legal basis for China to claim historic rights" for territories it claims within the nine-dash line, such as the Scarborough Shoal.
Included in the post was imagery showing a PCG diver cutting the barrier's rope with a knife, a video of PCG personnel hauling the barrier's anchor onto a boat, and a photo of the anchor from the barrier on the deck of a ship.
Tarrielia told DWPM radio that to conduct the mission, PCG personnel posed as fishermen. They boarded a small boat, severed the barrier, and seized the anchor, per Reuters.
Philippine Coast Guard Successfully Removes Hazardous Floating Barrier in Compliance with Presidential Instruction
In compliance with the instruction of the President, the Chairman, National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS), Sec. Eduardo Año, has directed the… pic.twitter.com/loeeFm45sU
— Jay Tarriela (@jaytaryela) September 25, 2023
Philippine Coast Guard diver uses knife to cut Chinese floating barrier at Scarborough Shoal https://t.co/SXnF9H7NnJ pic.twitter.com/Ap4gPVkgum
— Taiwan News (@TaiwanNewsEN) September 26, 2023
