August 26, 2026:
The most recent incident in the decades-old South China Sea conflict between the Philippines and China involved a Filipino being injured by the Chinese Coast Guard. This occurred near Second Thomas Shoal when a Chinese Coast Guard ship put a smaller-powered boat into the water. The boat carried eight armed sailors and sought to prevent the Filipino Navy from sending two RHIB/Rigid Inflatable Boats to intercept the Communist ship. Things got physical; one Filipino sailor was hit in the head by a Chinese sailor wielding a wooden staff. The Filipino Navy periodically sends ships to deliver supplies to the Marines on the LST. The Chinese are regularly trying to intercept those deliveries.
The U.S. Navy has become more active in helping the Philippines block China from taking areas of the South China Sea that are legally Filipino. They patrol a bit more and cast mean looks towards China. Last year saw the Chinese ramming Filipino ships as well as using water cannon against them. Ongoing territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea continue to escalate as the Chinese openly and aggressively drive Filipino navy ships from areas the Philippines has long controlled. In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Netherlands ruled that, under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Philippines won its 2013 case against China's claims and activities in the South China Sea. China claims 90 percent of the South China Sea. Over the last sixteen years, China has been increasingly aggressive while asserting those claims. This recently escalated to more tangible things like the artificial islands built throughout the South China Sea and garrisoned with heavily armed Chinese forces.
The United States and other Western and local allies like Australia, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Singapore regularly send warships and aircraft into the disputed areas to confront the Chinese. The message is that if China wants to start World War 3 in the South China Sea, the opposition will be substantial and include most of China’s neighbors.
The Philippines increased its military presence and activities in the South China Sea, especially around the Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal, where it claims sovereignty over parts of the disputed waters and features. The country has also received support from allies such as the United States, Japan, and Australia through joint exercises and patrols, as well as military assistance and equipment. However, China has also intensified its operations and use of coercion in the region, deploying more ships, aircraft, and missiles, and building new structures and facilities on the artificial islands it occupies.
China is now pursuing a similar strategy on small islands near Taiwan. This will probably result in violence similar to what has been occurring in the South China Sea.