BULLY TACTICS

China Sparks Fury With ‘Floating Barrier’ in South China Sea

Philippines says it will take “all available actions” for removal of the floating barrier—but it is not clear what that means.

The Philippines says it will take “all appropriate actions” for the removal of a floating barrier blocking its fishermen’s access to a disputed area of the South China Sea. Filipino officials shared images of the barrier impeding access to the Scarborough Shoal, a major fishing ground, with Chinese coast guard vessels waiting nearby. “We condemn the installation of floating barriers by Chinese coast guard,” Philippines National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said in a statement. “The placement by the People’s Republic of China of a barrier violates the traditional fishing rights of our fishermen.” China claims 90 percent of the South China Sea, using its growing military presence in the area to bully out rival claims from the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, and Indonesia. Asked if the Philippines might simply remove the barrier, a coast guard spokesman warned they had to avoid “any diplomatic misstep.”