Philippines

Report: Satellite Shows Barrier at South China Sea Shoal

FEB 26 2024·Updated AUG 27

Story

Image credit: NASA [via Wikimedia Commons]

The Facts

According to a Reuters report, satellite images show a new floating barrier across the entrance of the Scarborough Shoal — an area in the South China Sea that has seen frequent disputes between Chinese and Philippine ships.
RAPPLER
The Philippine Coast Guard released last week footage featuring Chinese coast guard boats installing barriers around the atoll allegedly to block Philippine government vessels and fishermen, amid allegations that Beijing has used cyanide in their fishing activities at the shoal.
Sputnik News
Meanwhile, China's state-run Global Times claimed that Manilla has organized and funded civilian ships to unlawfully enter into waters near the reef under the guise of fishing activities to violate Chinese self-proclaimed sovereignty and jurisdiction.
Global Times
Beijing claims almost the entire heavily trafficked South China Sea as its own territory despite protests from the Philippines as well as other neighboring countries with territorial claims.
Newsweek
Though the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague found in 2016 that Beijing has no legal basis to claim rights over 90% of the South China Sea, with regard to the shoal, the international tribunal limited itself to say that Chinese blockades were unlawful.
Reuters
On Tuesday, the Philippine Coast Guard reported that detecting the presence of three Chinese warships as well as a PRC helicopter around the Scarborough Shoal.
The Manila Times

Sources Split

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The Spin

Pro-China narrative

As the Philippines has consistently violated Chinese sovereignty over the Scarborough Shoal, Beijing had no other option than to set up this barrier across the entrance of the atoll to help protect its own maritime rights and interests. If such provocations persist, then China will be forced to take additional measures.

South China Morning Post

Anti-China narrative

Since Beijing captured the Scarborough Shoal more than a decade ago, its coast guard vessels have harassed Philippine vessels and blocked access to fishing operations. Because these moves are part of its broader, aggressive campaign in the South China Sea, it's no coincidence that its neighbors are now pursuing deeper ties with the West.

The New American