WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A senior U.S. defense official on Thursday said the Philippines’ removal of a Chinese floating barrier near Scarborough Shoal in a disputed part of the South China Sea was “a bold step in defending their own sovereignty.”
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia Lindsey Ford made the remark at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing.
Manila had expressed outrage over China’s placement of a long, ball-buoy barrier near the rocky outcrop 200 km (124 miles) from the Philippines, the site of years of intermittent flare-ups over sovereignty and fishing rights.
The Philippines said on Monday it executed a “special operation” to remove the barrier, calling it a violation of international law.
(Reporting by Michael Martina and David Brunnstrom; Editing by Chris Reese)
