Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) and navy vessels on Sept. 24 prevented a Philippine resupply ship from reaching troops stationed at a South China Sea shoal.
The move prompted Manila to accuse Beijing of interfering with a lawful mission inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
Three People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) warships and five Coast Guard vessels converged on the Philippine convoy as it headed toward Second Thomas Shoal, known in the Philippines as Ayungin Shoal, according to the Philippine military.
The Philippine supply ship M/V Lapu-Lapu and three navy and coast guard support vessels were about 60 nautical miles from the shoal when the Chinese vessels interfered with their passage.
A Chinese warship warned that it would take “compulsory measures,” while a CCG vessel maneuvered close enough to threaten a collision, Philippine officials said.
The Philippine military called off the mission because of the danger to its personnel and vessels.
The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea on Sept. 25 said the Chinese actions “put Filipino personnel at risk and obstructed a legitimate humanitarian and sustainment operation.”
It called on the Chinese Coast Guard and navy to stop interfering with Philippine resupply missions.
Second Thomas Shoal lies within the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.
An international tribunal in The Hague ruled in 2016 that the shoal is a low-tide elevation and that China has no overlapping entitlements to an exclusive economic zone or continental shelf in the area.
The tribunal also rejected the legal basis for Beijing’s expansive claims to historic rights within its so-called nine-dash line. China rejected the ruling.
The Philippines maintains a small military contingent at the shoal aboard the BRP Sierra Madre, a World War II-era ship deliberately run aground there in 1999. Philippine vessels periodically bring the troops food and other supplies and rotate personnel.
U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Lee Lipton said on Sept. 27 the Chinese vessels used “dangerous blocking and other irresponsible maneuvers” that threatened a collision and prevented the mission from reaching the shoal.
“We call on the China Coast Guard and PLAN to cease the use of escalatory tactics that threaten the freedom of navigation and a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Lipton stated.
Resupply Arrangement Tested
The confrontation broke a run of 16 resupply missions that Philippine officials said had been completed without incident under a provisional arrangement Manila and Beijing reached in July 2024.
The arrangement followed repeated confrontations around Second Thomas Shoal, including a June 2024 encounter in which Chinese coast guard personnel boarded Philippine vessels and Philippine sailors were injured.
A Chinese Coast Guard ship fires a water cannon at Unaizah, a Philippine Navy chartered vessel, conducting a routine resupply mission to troops stationed at Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea on March 5, 2024. (Ezra Acayan/Getty Images)
Under the arrangement, Manila says it provides Beijing advance information about a resupply mission but does not seek Chinese permission.
“This is just an information exchange,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Maria Theresa Lazaro told Philippine lawmakers on Sept. 3. “There is no permission that is being asked.”
China gave a different account of the Sept. 24 confrontation.
China Coast Guard spokesman Jiang Lue said the Philippines had broken its commitments and proceeded with the resupply mission despite Chinese warnings.
He said the coast guard monitored the Philippine vessel and issued warnings.
Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said the Chinese interference would not stop future resupply missions.
“Temporary setbacks, but the mission will go on,” Teodoro told reporters on Sept. 26.
Chinese Naval Activity Elsewhere
On Sept. 27, China said its coast guard conducted drills around Scarborough Shoal involving boarding and inspection, “interdiction of intrusion,” and forced towing.
China’s Southern Theater Command separately said it conducted joint naval and air exercises around Scarborough Shoal on the same day.
Also on Sept. 27, the Philippine Coast Guard said it detected a Chinese coast guard vessel about 35 nautical miles northwest of Cabra Island in Occidental Mindoro.
The vessel did not respond to Philippine radio challenges, according to the coast guard.
A Philippine patrol ship later encountered and shadowed three Chinese navy warships about 31 nautical miles northwest of the island.
A Philippine Coast Guard vessel shadows three People’s Liberation Army Navy warships about 31 nautical miles northwest of Cabra Island in Occidental Mindoro, Philippines, on Sept. 27, 2026. (Courtesy of Philippine Coast Guard)
The Philippine Coast Guard said it believed the Chinese vessels were likely monitoring a multinational maritime exercise held that week and said it would continue deploying aircraft and ships to monitor and challenge foreign vessels in the area.
