The dilapidated BRP Sierra Madre ship of the Philippine Navy is anchored near Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly group of islands in the South China Sea.
Beijing claims “indisputable sovereignty” over almost all of the 1.3 million-square-mile South China Sea, and most of the islands and sandbars within it, including many features that are hundreds of miles from mainland China.
Under President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr, the Philippines has taken increasingly assertive steps to protect its claim to shoals in the South China Sea, leading to several confrontations off the Philippine islands.
The US is not a claimant to the South China Sea, but says the waters are crucial to its national interest of guaranteeing free passage through seas worldwide.
A close up view taken on March 29, 2014 of the BRP Sierra Madre beached near the Second Thomas Shoal, part of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.
Persons:
Hong Kong CNN —, Shoal, Ren’ai Jiao, ”, Mao Ning, pushback, Ritchie, Ferdinand “ Bongbong ” Marcos Jr, Marcos, Jake Sullivan, ” Sullivan, Thomas Shoal, Erik de Castro, Gregory Poling, “, ” Derek Grossman
Organizations:
Hong Kong CNN, BRP Sierra Madre, Foreign Ministry, The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs, BRP, Philippine Navy, coastguard, US Navy, Aspen Security, US National, Reuters, Transparency Initiative, RAND Corporation
Locations:
Hong Kong, South, Manila, Beijing, Philippine, Spratly, Philippines, China, Palawan, Madre, South China, Second, The Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Taiwan, The Hague, Scarborough, BRP Sierra Madre, Washington, United States, Sierra Madre, BRP Sierra, Asia