MANILA: The Philippines on Sunday accused China’s coast guard of installing a “floating barrier” in a disputed area of the South China Sea, saying it prevented Filipinos from entering and fishing in the area.
Manila’s coast guard and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources “strongly condemn” China’s installation of the barrier in part of the Scarborough Shoal, Commodore Jay Tarriela, a coast guard spokesperson, posted on the X social media platform, formerly Twitter.
The barrier “prevents Filipino fishing boats from entering the shoal and depriving them of their fishing and livelihood activities,” he said.
The Chinese embassy in Manila did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
China claims 90 percent of the South China Sea, overlapping with the exclusive economic zones of Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines. Beijing seized the Scarborough Shoal in 2012 and forced fishermen from the Philippines to travel further for smaller catches.
Beijing allowed Filipino fishermen to return to the uninhabited shoal when bilateral relations were improving markedly under then-President Rodrigo Duterte. But tension has mounted again since his successor, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, took office last year.
Philippine coast guard and fisheries bureau personnel discovered the floating barrier, estimated at 300 m (1,000 feet) long, on a routine patrol on Friday near the shoal, locally known as Bajo de Masinloc, Tarriela said.
Three Chinese coast guard rigid-hull inflatable boats and a Chinese maritime militia service boat installed the barrier when the Philippine vessel arrived, he said.
Filipino fishermen say China typically installs such barriers when they monitor a large number of fishermen in the area, Tarriela said.
Philippines condemns Chinese ‘floating barrier’ in South China Sea
https://arab.news/8mtwg
Philippines condemns Chinese ‘floating barrier’ in South China Sea
- ‘Floating barrier’ preventing Filipinos from entering and fishing in the area
- Philippine coast guard and fisheries bureau personnel discovered the floating barrier, estimated at 300 meters long
What is Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’?
- The Board of Peace’s charter does not appear to limit its role to the occupied Palestinian territory of Gaza
- Trump will be chairman but also “separately serve as inaugural representative of the United States of America”
BRUSSELS: US President Donald Trump’s government has asked countries to pay $1 billion for a permanent spot on his “Board of Peace” aimed at resolving conflicts, according to its charter seen by AFP.
The board was originally conceived to oversee the rebuilding of war-torn Gaza, but the charter does not appear to limit its role to the occupied Palestinian territory.
What exactly will it do? And who has been invited?
- To what end? -
The Board of Peace will be chaired by Trump, according to its founding charter.
It is “an international organization that seeks to promote stability, restore dependable and lawful governance, and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict,” reads the preamble of the charter sent to countries invited to participate.
It will “undertake such peace-building functions in accordance with international law,” it adds.
- Who’s boss? -
Trump will be chairman but also “separately serve as inaugural representative of the United States of America.”
“The Chairman shall have exclusive authority to create, modify, or dissolve subsidiary entities as necessary or appropriate to fulfill the Board of Peace’s mission,” the document states.
He will pick members of an Executive Board to be “leaders of global stature” to “serve two-year terms, subject to removal by the Chairman.”
He may also, “acting on behalf of the Board of Peace,” “adopt resolutions or other directives.”
The chairman can be replaced only in case of “voluntary resignation or as a result of incapacity.”
- Who can be a member? -
Member states have to be invited by the US president, and will be represented by their head of state or government.
Each member “shall serve a term of no more than three years,” the charter says.
But “the three-year membership term shall not apply to Member States that contribute more than USD $1,000,000,000 in cash funds to the Board of Peace within the first year of the Charter’s entry into force,” it adds.
The board will “convene voting meetings at least annually,” and “each member State shall have one vote.”
But while all decisions require “a majority of Member States present and voting,” they will also be “subject to the approval of the Chairman, who may also cast a vote in his capacity as Chairman in the event of a tie.”
- Who’s already in? -
The White House has said its members will include:
US President Donald Trump, chair
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio
Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special negotiator
Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law
Tony Blair, former UK prime minister
Marc Rowan, billionaire US financier
Ajay Banga, World Bank president
Robert Gabriel, loyal Trump aide on the National Security Council
- Who’s been invited? -
The list of countries and leaders who say they have been invited include, but are not limited to:
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi
Argentina’s President Javier Milei
Jordan
Brazil
Paraguay
India
Pakistan
Germany
France
Italy
Hungary
Romania
Uzbekistan
Belarus
Greece
Morocco
Slovenia
Poland
- When does it start? -
The charter says it enters into force “upon expression of consent to be bound by three States.”
