Philippines challenges China's sea claims.
A Chinese coast guard ship blocked a Philippine patrol vessel near Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea, causing a near-collision in the latest act of Beijing’s aggression in the strategic waterway. The Philippine coast guard had invited a small group of journalists to join the 1,670-kilometer patrol for the first time as part of a new Philippine strategy aimed at exposing China’s increasingly aggressive actions in the South China Sea. The territorial conflicts involving China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Brunei have long been regarded as an Asian flashpoint and a delicate fault line in the rivalry between the United States and China in the region.