Recent satellite imagery shows what appears to be a barrier placed by China at the mouth of a contested fishing ground in the South China Sea.
Why It Matters
Scarborough Shoal lies within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, within which the country is entitled to exclusive fishing rights under maritime law.
China also claims the shoal—as it does most of the South China Sea—and has stepped up efforts to block Philippine access. Confrontations between Chinese and Philippine forces at Scarborough and other South China Sea flashpoints have brought renewed attention to Manila’s Mutual Defense Treaty with the United States.
Newsweek reached out to the Philippine coast guard and Chinese Foreign Ministry via emailed requests for comment.
What To Know
The barrier is visible in a photo captured October 8 and released by satellite imagery provider SkFi to Ray Powell, a maritime analyst who heads Stanford University-affiliated analysis group SeaLight.
Powell, who provided the high-resolution image to Newsweek, slammed the “illegal floating barrier installed by the People’s Republic of China” in a post on X.
He noted that a 2016 ruling by an international tribunal in The Hague, which rejected China’s sovereignty claim over the shoal and other South China Sea features, citing the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Beijing maintains the ruling is invalid.
The barrier was discovered during a recent Philippine navy patrol, Philippine coast guard spokesperson Jay Tarriela told reporters last week.
Similar barriers have previously been placed—and later removed—by China and the Philippines at Scarborough Shoal. China seized effective control over the waters around Scarborough after a 2012 standoff with the Philippines.
Tensions flared in August when a Chinese navy destroyer and coast guard vessel collided while seeking to block a Philippine government mission to supply local fishermen. The coast guard ship was severely damaged, and Filipino officials believe multiple Chinese crew members were killed.
Days later, China’s powerful State Council declared a nature reserve over much of the shoal, drawing protests from both Manila and Washington over the unilateral move.
“The Philippines urges China to respect the sovereignty and jurisdiction of the Philippines over Bajo de Masinloc, refrain from enforcing and immediately withdraw its State Council issuance, and comply with its obligations under international law,” the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
What People Are Saying
The South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative, a Beijing-based think tank, wrote on X: “As far as we know, this measure [the barrier] is a response to the recent provocative behavior of the Philippines.
“China regards Scarborough Shoal as its sovereignty [sic], and has the right to do anything. In fact, China still maintains great restraint, and what it will do in the future depends largely on the actions of the Philippines.”
Powell wrote in a statement ahead of a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee hearing earlier this month: “While Russia’s blunt-force territorial aggressions naturally capture headlines and trigger robust international responses, China has quietly achieved far greater imperial successes—primarily in the maritime domain.
“It has done so through its mastery of gray zone—or illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive—and political warfare strategies that operate beneath thresholds of international response.”
What Happens Next
China is expected to continue expanding its presence within the Philippine maritime zone. The Philippines is unlikely to back down, with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. having vowed never to cede “even one square inch” of Manila-claimed territory to a foreign power.
