The Philippines has accused China of blocking fishermen from a disputed area of the South China Sea by installing a 'floating barrier'. - REUTERS
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00:00 The Philippines on Sunday accused China's coastguard of installing a floating barrier
00:06 in a disputed area of the South China Sea.
00:09 Footage released by the Philippine coastguard showed several Chinese vessels near the barrier,
00:14 which Manila says is preventing Filipinos from entering and fishing in the area.
00:19 A spokesperson said the Philippine coastguard and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources
00:24 strongly condemn the installation of the barrier in part of the Scarborough Shoal.
00:29 China claims 90 per cent of the South China Sea, overlapping with the exclusive economic
00:35 zones of Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines.
00:40 Beijing seized the Scarborough Shoal in 2012, forcing Filipino fishermen to travel further
00:47 for smaller catches.
00:49 They were allowed return as bilateral relations improved markedly under the Philippines'
00:54 then-president Rodrigo Duterte.
00:57 But tensions have mounted again since his successor, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, took office
01:02 last year.
01:05 The Philippine coastguard and Fisheries Bureau personnel discovered the floating barrier
01:09 on a routine patrol on Friday.
01:11 China's embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
01:16 (speaking in foreign language)