Philippines ‘to remove barrier placed by China’s coastguard at disputed lagoon’

A Chinese coastguard ship tries to block the way of a Philippine supply boat, left, as it heads towards Second Thomas Shoal, locally known as Ayungin Shoal, in August (Aaron Favila/AP)

Philippine officials have vowed to remove a floating barrier placed by China’s coastguard to prevent Filipino fishing boats from entering a disputed lagoon in the South China Sea.

They said the 980-foot-long barrier at the entrance to the lagoon at Scarborough Shoal is “illegal and illegitimate”.