Scarborough Shoal barrier spotted

China has placed ships and a floating barrier across the entrance to Scarborough Shoal, according to satellite images taken on April 10 and April 11. (reuters.com) The images reviewed by Reuters show four fishing boats anchored near the entrance, and an April 11 image shows the barrier stretched across it. Satellite image provider Vantor, formerly Maxar Technologies, said a probable Chinese naval or coast guard patrol vessel was visible just outside the entrance on April 10. (rappler.com) Scarborough Shoal sits about 124 nautical miles from Zambales and inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, but China also claims it and has kept effective control there for years through regular coast guard deployments. Reuters reported that China’s defense ministry did not immediately respond to questions about the new deployment or its timing. (gmanetwork.com) (reuters.com) The move adds a physical obstacle at a shoal that the Permanent Court of Arbitration addressed in its July 12, 2016 ruling on the South China Sea case. The tribunal said sovereignty over Scarborough Shoal was outside the case, but it found that China had unlawfully interfered with traditional fishing rights there. (pca-cpa.org) (rappler.com) The shoal has already been a flashpoint in 2026. On March 16, the Philippines rejected a Chinese Embassy claim that a 1990 letter showed Manila had conceded Scarborough Shoal was not Philippine territory. (usnews.com) (rappler.com) China says it has sovereignty over Scarborough Shoal, which it calls Huangyan Dao, and has repeatedly rejected the 2016 arbitration ruling. Philippine officials say Beijing’s claim has no basis in fact, history, or international law. (usnews.com) (rappler.com) The barrier also recalls an earlier confrontation in September 2023, when the Philippines said it cut away a 300-meter floating barrier that China had placed at the shoal to block Filipino fishermen. Manila said then that the obstruction violated international law and harmed livelihoods in a traditional fishing ground. (gmanetwork.com) Scarborough remains one of the South China Sea’s most sensitive choke points because fishing boats, coast guard ships, and allied naval patrols keep returning to the same narrow entrance. The latest images suggest that, as of April 11, China was again trying to control who gets in and who stays out. (reuters.com)