I find it odd that the reef has recently and maybe unnaturally grew into a permanent dune structure. I believe the chinese have been covertly filling in the reef for future plans. And perhaps such a wall of ships could also hide activity. Or at least prohibit anyone from entering the area to check on it.
It's clear to everyone this is how china has grown and taken over other reefs for their island military bases.
Philippines condemns Chinese 'floating barrier' in disputed South China Sea shoal
"China accused of gaslighting Philippines over South China Sea maritime militia
"Western Countries Send Ships to South China Sea in Pushback Against Beijing "The Dispute About the South China Sea Is Also a Dispute About History and America's Role""
An international incident is unfolding after hundreds of Chinese “fishing” boats pitched up on a reef. The problem is they’re not fishing."
Posted 11h ago, updated 10h ago
Chinese Coast Guard boats close to the floating barrier near the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. (Reuters: Philippine Coast Guard/Handout )
The Philippines has accused China's coast guard of installing a "floating barrier" in a disputed area of the South China Sea, saying it prevented Filipinos from entering and fishing in the area.
Key points:
* Philippine coast guard and fisheries bureau personnel discovered the floating barrier on routine patrol * Filipino fishermen said China typically installs such barriers when they monitor a large number of fishermen in the area * China's coast guard issued radio challenges and accused the Philippine ship and fishermen of violating China's laws
Manila's coast guard and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources "strongly condemn" China's installation of the barrier in part of the Scarborough Shoal, Commodore Jay Tarriela, a coast guard spokesperson, posted on the X social media platform.
The barrier blocking fishermen from the shoal was depriving them of their fishing and livelihood activities", he said.
"The (Philippine Coast Guard) will continue to work closely with all concerned government agencies to address these challenges, uphold our maritime rights and protect our maritime domains," Mr Tarriela said.
The Chinese embassy in Manila did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
China claims 90 per cent of the South China Sea, overlapping with the exclusive economic zones of Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Since then, it has deployed coast guard and other vessels to block or restrict access to the fishing ground that has been tapped by generations of Filipinos.
Beijing allowed Filipino fishermen to return to the uninhabited shoal when bilateral relations were improving markedly under then-President Rodrigo Duterte.
But tension has mounted again since his successor, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, took office last year.
Philippine coast guard and fisheries bureau personnel discovered the floating barrier, estimated at 300 metres long, on a routine patrol on Friday near the shoal, locally known as Bajo de Masinloc, Mr Tarriela said.
Three Chinese coast guard rigid-hull inflatable boats and a Chinese maritime militia service boat installed the barrier when the Philippine vessel arrived, he said.
Filipino fishermen say China typically installs such barriers when they monitor a large number of fishermen in the area, Mr Tarriela said.
The Chinese boats issued 15 radio challenges and accused the Philippine ship and fishermen of violating international and China's laws, before moving away "upon realising the presence of media personnel onboard the (Filipino) vessel", he said.
Filipino fisherman chased by China coast guard
Filipino fisherman Arnel Satam guns the motor of his tiny wooden boat as he makes a dash for the shallow waters of Scarborough Shoal, with Chinese coast guard speedboats in hot pursuit.
In a high-seas chase lasting several minutes, Mr Satam tries in vain to outrun the faster boats in the hope of slipping inside the ring of reefs controlled by China, where fish are more abundant.
A Filipino fisherman aboard his wooden boat sailing past a Chinese coast guard ship near the Chinese-controlled Scarborough Shoal.(AFP: Ted Aljibe)
Friday's pursuit was witnessed by AFP journalists on board the Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources ship BRP Datu Bankaw, which was delivering food, water and fuel to Filipino fishermen plying the contested waters, sometimes for weeks on end.
The fishermen complained that China's actions at Scarborough Shoal were robbing them of a key source of income and a place to shelter safely during a storm.
A dispute over tiny islands and reefs has everyone worried In the face of a David and Goliath battle to maintain control over the islands of Kalayaan, which are still administered by Manila, in the South China Sea, the Philippines has turned to two very different forces: soldiers and holiday makers. Read more > https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-03/the-philippines-david-and-goliath-battle-with-china/102800700
"I want to fish in there," a defiant Mr Satam, 54, told journalists as he stood barefoot on his light blue outrigger bearing a Superman "S" emblem.
"I do this thing often. They already chased me earlier today," he said, adding the Chinese speedboats had bumped his vessel.
"I just laughed at them."
Scarborough Shoal is 240 kilometres west of the Philippines' main island of Luzon and nearly 900 kilometres from the nearest major Chinese land mass of Hainan.
Under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which China helped negotiate, countries have jurisdiction over the natural resources within about 370 kilometres of their shore.
Filipino fishermen told journalists they had been chased and water cannoned by Chinese vessels in the past and even had their anchors cut.
"They should give it back to us because this is ours," said Nonoy de los Reyes, 40, referring to Scarborough Shoal.
"They should leave this place."
A day earlier, three Filipino fishermen had made a daring bid to enter the shoal in their small boats, but were chased away by Chinese coast guard personnel in rigid-hulled inflatable vessels.
"We are defenceless because they are armed and there was just one fisherman in each of our three boats," Alex del Campo, one of the fishermen, said.
"If they ram and sink our boats who will save us?"
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