The Philippines has secretly reinforced a deteriorating warship, the Sierra Madre, stranded on a South China Sea reef at the heart of a growing and perilous dispute with Beijing. According to six sources familiar with the matter, the Philippine military has recently undertaken missions to reinforce the Sierra Madre, which is grounded on the contested Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands. This action was driven by concerns that the rusting ship might break apart.
The Sierra Madre was intentionally run aground by the Philippines in 1999 to assert its claim over the reef, which is also claimed by China as part of its extensive and controversial sovereignty over much of the South China Sea—a claim contested by several neighboring countries. In 2016, an international tribunal ruled against Beijing’s claims to the area, declaring that China had no legal rights to the Second Thomas Shoal, situated within the Philippine exclusive economic zone.
Recently, the Sierra Madre has emerged as a critical and volatile flashpoint in the Indo-Pacific. China’s coast guard has increasingly employed aggressive measures, such as using water cannons, ramming boats, and brandishing weapons, to prevent the Philippines from delivering supplies to the Marines stationed on the ship.
The Philippines is currently engaged in its most determined campaign to counter China’s increasing assertiveness in the South China Sea. Since Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took office as president two years ago, he has spearheaded an initiative, supported by the United States and other allies, to challenge China’s attempts to extend its military and political influence over this crucial waterway, which is also partially claimed by six other countries.
However, over the past year, this campaign has highlighted the limitations of the Philippines’ capabilities. Confronted by China, which possesses one of the world’s largest maritime forces, the Philippines has seen its vessels routinely rammed, swarmed, and targeted with water cannons by Chinese ships.
The Philippines asserts claims over various disputed islands and maritime features, which it collectively refers to as the West Philippine Sea. In recent moves to strengthen its position, the Philippines has been developing military facilities on the contested Pag-Asa Island and has deployed warships to Sabina Shoal, another disputed atoll. These actions are part of the broader strategy to affirm its sovereignty and resist China’s dominance in the region.
This week, Philippines’s soldiers used their “bare hands” to fight off Chinese coast guard personnel armed with swords, spears and knives in the disputed South China Sea. The Philippine government on Monday accused Chinese ships of ramming and damaging its boats in the South China Sea during a confrontation in waters off the Second Thomas Shoal, home to a garrison of Filipino troops.
The U.S. State Department called the incident the latest in a series of Chinese “provocations” to impede supplies from reaching Philippines personnel stationed at the BRP Sierra Madre, a Philippine vessel grounded at the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, site of repeated confrontations with China this past year.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual shipborne commerce, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. China has repeatedly warned the Philippines about entering what it calls its territorial waters.
As of June 15, new Chinese regulations permit the coastguard to use lethal force against foreign vessels in these contested waters and detain suspected intruders for up to 60 days without trial. In reaction, the Philippine coastguard announced on Monday the deployment of two vessels to safeguard Filipino fishermen near Scarborough Shoal, another disputed area approximately 640 kilometers (345 nautical miles) from Second Thomas Shoal.
