June 20
The Philippine military chief demanded that China return rifles and equipment seized by the Chinese coast guard in a disputed shoal and pay for damages in an assault he likened to an act of piracy in the South China Sea.
Chinese personnel on board more than eight motorboats repeatedly rammed then boarded the two Philippine navy inflatable boats on Monday.
After a scuffle and repeated collisions, the Chinese seized the boats and damaged them with machetes, knives and hammers.
Video and photographs issued by the Philippine military show a damaged navy boat with its side floaters slashed and deflated and another boat with its windshields and navigational screens shattered.
Armed with long knives and machetes, the Chinese coast guard personnel tried to beat the unarmed Filipinos, who resisted with their bare hands by parrying the blows and pushing back the Chinese, said General Romeo Brawner, head of the Philippines armed forces.
"They boarded our boats illegally and seized our equipment," he said.
"They're now like pirates with this kind of actions."
Some of the Chinese pointed their knives at the Filipino navy personnel, Brawner said.
A number of Filipino navy personnel were injured during the interception, including one who lost his right thumb.
The blockading of the Philippines vessels came as they attempted to transfer food and other supplies to a Philippine territorial outpost in Second Thomas Shoal, which is also claimed by Beijing.
China blamed the Philippines for the confrontation, saying the Filipino personnel "trespassed" into the shoal in defiance of its warnings.
March 25
Chinese coast guard ships hit a Philippine supply boat with water cannons in the latest confrontation near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, causing injuries to its navy crew members and heavy damage to the wooden vessel, Philippine officials said.
This screen grab from video provided by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, shows how the Chinese vessel ship came very close to the Philippines boat near Second Thomas Shoal, locally called Ayungin shoal.
Escorted by two Philippine coast guard ships, the Unaizah May 4 was en route to deliver supplies and a fresh batch of Filipino sailors to the territorial outpost in the shoal when they were blocked and surrounded by Chinese coast guard ships and suspected militia vessels.
The two Philippine coast guard patrol ships sailed through the Chinese blockade to treat the injured Filipino crew members and tow the disabled supply boat away.
Chinese coast guard spokesperson Gan Yu said the Philippine vessels intruded into what he said was China's territorial waters despite repeated warnings.
The repeated high-seas confrontations have sparked fears they could degenerate into a larger conflict that could bring China and the United States into a collision.
A US State Department spokesperson said the Chinese ships' "repeated employment of water cannons and reckless blocking manoeuvres resulted in injuries to Filipino service members and significant damage."
The US has also warned repeatedly that it's obligated to defend the Philippines — its oldest treaty ally in Asia — if Filipino forces, ships or aircraft come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea.
December 4
The Philippines has started building a new coastguard monitoring base on an island occupied by Filipino forces in the disputed South China Sea and plans to expand joint patrols with the United States and Australia to counter China's "pure bullying" in the strategic waterway, a Philippine security official said.
Officials travelled to the remote Thitu Island on December 1, 2023 for an inauguration ceremony.
The newly constructed, two-storey centre will have radar, ship-tracking and other monitoring equipment to monitor China's actions in the hotly disputed waters and other problems, including sea accidents.
High-seas face-offs between Chinese and Philippine ships have intensified this year in the contested waters, raising fears of a larger conflict that could involve the United States.
Surrounded by white beaches, the tadpole-shaped Thitu Island is called Pag-asa — Tagalog for hope — by about 250 Filipino villagers.
It's one of nine islands, islets and atolls that have been occupied by Philippine forces since the 1970s in the South China Sea's Spratlys archipelago.
Villagers and fishers say they have gotten used to the sight of Chinese ships lurking at a distance and close to Philippines-occupied islands such as Nanshan Island, pictured.
Philippines National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano said Chinese ships as openly flouting international law. "It's no longer grey zone. It's pure bullying,"
Dwarfed by China's military might, the Philippines decided this year to allow an expansion of the US military presence in its local camps under a 2014 defence pact.
It also recently launched joint sea and air patrols with the United States and Australia in a new deterrence strategy that puts the two allied powers on a collision course with Beijing.
During an incident near Japan on November 14, according to Australian authorities, a Chinese ship deployed its sonar despite being told divers from HMAS Toowoomba, pictured foreground, were in the water removing fishing netting from a propeller.
The incident left a diver with minor injuries, although China has disputed Australia's version of events.
(Australian Department of Defence)
China appears to be constructing an airstrip on a disputed South China Sea island that is also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan, according to satellite photos analysed by The Associated Press.
The work on Triton island in the Paracel group mirrors construction on seven human-made islands in the Spratly group to the east which have been equipped with airstrips, docks and military systems.
Satellite photos from Planet Labs PBC analysed by the AP show construction on the airstrip first visible in early August 2023. The runway, as currently laid out, would be more than 600m in length, long enough to accommodate turboprop aircraft and drones, but not fighter jets or bombers.
Triton is one of the major islands in the Paracel group, which is roughly equidistant from the coast of Vietnam and China's island province of Hainan.
China has had a small harbour and buildings on the island for years, along with a helipad and radar equipment.
China has refused to provide details of its island construction work other than to say it is aimed at helping global navigation safety. It has rejected accusations that it is militarising the South China Sea, through which an estimated US$5 trillion in trade passes annually.
The confrontation between a Chinese fighter jet and a US Navy reconnaissance plane over the South China on February 24, 2023, was the latest incident between Beijing and Washington over the disputed waters.
The Chinese PLA J-11 warplane, armed with air-to-air missiles, intercepted the US plane carrying CNN reporters, and nestled in just 150 metres off its port side.
The fighter jet tailed the US plane for about 15 minutes before heading off.
While flying close to the Philippines, the US Navy P-8 spotted a Chinese guided-missile destroyer and descended to about 300 metres to get a closer look.
It brought a warning from the warship.
"US aircraft. US aircraft. This is Chinese naval warship 173. You are approaching to me at low altitude. State your intention over," a voice was heard over the US plane's radio.
US vessels and aircraft operate regularly where international law allows, the Pentagon says.
But China claims the US presence in the South China Sea is what's fuelling the tensions.
Defence Minister Richard Marles has flagged Australia and the Philippines holding joint naval patrols in the South China Sea to counter Chinese assertiveness in the region.
Marles, right, met with Philippines Defence Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. in Manila on February 22, 2023.
"Both the Philippines and Australia are completely committed to a global rules-based order," Marles said.
The Philippine Coast Guard has accused a China Coast Guard ship of pointing a "military grade" laser at some of its crew on February 6, 2023, temporarily blinding them, aboard a vessel in contested waters of the South China Sea.
The Chinese ship also "made a dangerous manoeuvre" in approaching within 137 metres of the Philippine vessel, the Philippine Coast Guard alleged.
(Photo: CNN/Philippine Coast Guard)
In the February 6, 2023, incident, the Philippine vessel BRP Malapascua was on a mission to resupply the Sierra Madre when it was challenged by the Chinese ship, the Philippine release alleged.
"The Chinese ship illuminated the green laser light twice toward the BRP Malapascua, causing temporary blindness to her crew at the bridge," the release said.
In February 2022, Australia alleged a People's Liberation Army Navy warship "illuminated" an Australian P-8A aircraft, a reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare plane, as it was flying over the Arafura Sea
(Photo: CNN/Philippine Coast Guard)
China's military build-up in the disputed South China Sea has been revealed in new images of artificial reefs transformed into bases for troops.
Getty Images photographer Ezra Acayan captured the vast installations in the strategically-vital waterway.
Airfields, radar installations and possible missile silos now occupy the reclaimed reefs.