No order yet from Marcos to remove China's floating barriers in Bajo de Masinloc

There is no order yet from President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. to remove the floating barriers that were reinstalled by China in Bajo de Masinloc, Malacañang said on Tuesday.

''Hintayin na lamang po natin kung ano ang maaaring maging report at ano ang maaaring maging aksyon po ng nasabing mga ahensiya,'' Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro said during a briefing.

(Let us wait for the report and the actions of the concerned agencies.)

The Philippine Coast Guard disclosed that Chinese maritime militia had reinstalled floating barriers to block Filipino fishing boats from entering Bajo de Masinloc, also known as Scarborough Shoal. 

Castro said she would not divulge any other information about the operations of the PCG and the Department of National Defense as regards the incident.

EXPLAINER: What is Scarborough Shoal and why is it important?

The shoal lies 124 nautical miles off Masinloc, Zambales, within the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

To recall, it was in September 2023 when the China Coast Guard (CCG) installed a floating barrier, which had an estimated length of 300 meters.

It was reported by the Filipino fishermen that the CCG vessels usually install floating barriers whenever they monitor a large number of Filipino fishermen in the area, said the PCG. 

The PCG thereafter removed the “dangerous” floating barrier upon the instructions of Marcos and National Security Adviser Eduardo Año, who also heads the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea.

Tensions persist as Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, overlapping with territorial claims from the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei.

In 2016, an international tribunal in The Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines, declaring China’s claims had "no legal basis." However, China has refused to recognize the ruling. —VAL, GMA Integrated News