BOUNDARY ON WATER Booms, which the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said were installed by the China Coast Guard, are seen from another vantage at Bajo de Masinloc. —PHOTO FROM PCG
MANILA, Philippines — The government “will take all appropriate actions“ to get rid of the floating barrier that China installed near Bajo de Masinloc in the West Philippine Sea, National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said Monday.
“We will take all appropriate actions to cause the removal of the barriers and to protect the rights of our fishermen in the area,” he said in a statement.
Año, who also chairs the National Taskforce for the West Philippine Sea, said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has already been informed of the situation.
READ: Zubiri to PCG: Dismantle China’s floating barrier in PH’s Bajo de Masinloc
He condemned China’s latest action in the West Philippine Sea, asserting it violates the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which invalidated Beijing’s claim over almost the entire South China Sea, overlapping areas within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
“The placement by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) of a barrier violates the traditional fishing rights of our fishermen whose rights have been affirmed by the 2016 Arbitral ruling,” Año continued.
“It ruled categorically that such action by the PRC violated the traditional fishing rights of our fishermen in the shoal who have been fishing there for centuries.”
“Any State that prevents them from doing artisanal fishing there violates Unclos and international law, in general,” he added.
On Sunday, the Philippine Coast Guard revealed that the Chinese Coast Guard installed on September 22 an approximately 300-meter long floating barrier near Bajo de Masinloc, which is also known as the Panatag Shoal or Scarborough Shoal.