Footage Shows Chinese Ships Near US Ally's Disputed Island Base

Newsweek

04-06-2025

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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The Philippines has released footage showing Chinese maritime forces operating near its largest outpost in the South China Sea's disputed Spratly Islands archipelago.
Newsweek has contacted the Chinese Foreign Ministry and Philippine military for comment via written requests.
Why It Matters
China claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, citing "historical rights," which puts it at odds with the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Taiwan and Indonesia. In 2016, an arbitral tribunal in the Hague dismissed the sweeping claims featured in China's "nine-dashed line" map as incompatible with maritime law. Beijing rejected the decision.
The Philippines has mounted a stiff challenge to expanding Chinese activities in its exclusive economic zone. The resulting standoffs between Chinese and Philippine government vessels have raised concerns that Manila's Mutual Defense Treaty with Washington could pull the U.S. into a conflict with its East Asian rival.
WATCH: A China Coast Guard ship, several Chinese maritime militia vessels, and a PLA Navy warship seen from Pag-asa Island. | via Patrick de Jesus pic.twitter.com/EVbImk3La6 — PTVph (@PTVph) June 3, 2025
What To Know
On Wednesday, the People's Television Network, a Philippine state-owned broadcaster, released footage showing Chinese vessels operating off the coast of Thitu Island, well within the 12-nautical-mile (13.8-mile) territorial sea claimed by Manila.
The ships included a Chinese coast guard cutter, a People's Liberation Army Navy warship and what appeared to be two vessels from China's so-called Maritime Militia. The agency did not specify when the footage was taken.
Administered by the Philippines since 1971, Thitu is the largest of the Spratly Islands under the country's control and hosts a small permanent population.
This photograph captured by Airbus in June 2023 and provided by Google Earth shows the Philippine-control Thitu Island in the South China Sea's contested Spratly Islands archipelago.
This photograph captured by Airbus in June 2023 and provided by Google Earth shows the Philippine-control Thitu Island in the South China Sea's contested Spratly Islands archipelago.
Google Earth/Airbus
The island is also home to a small coast guard station, military garrison and airstrip, modest yet vital assets for maintaining Manila's force posture in the area. This is especially necessary given the proximity of China's more heavily militarized artificial islands.
The waters around Thitu, and a nearby cluster of sandbars known as Sandy Cay, have at times become a flashpoint in the South China Sea dispute.
In late May, Manila released video showing a Chinese coast guard ship using a water cannon against a Philippine fisheries bureau vessel. The Chinese ship also "sideswiped" the smaller craft and damaged its bow, according to Philippine authorities.
What People Are Saying
Major General Meng Xiangqing, a professor at China's National Defense University of the People's Liberation Army, said on Sunday at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore: "It must be pointed out that the Philippines has always been the provocateur and China's actions have been legitimate responses. Here, I solemnly warn the Philippine side: The South China Sea is not a place where the Philippines can act recklessly."
Gilberto Teodoro, the Philippine secretary of defense, told Newsweek on Sunday: "Unfortunately, they [China] are the cause of instability here. Nobody denies it. Nobody supports their nine-dash line here, and I made that clear in my condemnation—and a lot of people condemn their behavior because no right-minded person would agree with what they're doing here in the South China Sea."
What Happens Next
The Philippines is expanding infrastructure on Thitu Island, including a recently completed extension of its airstrip to 1.5 kilometers (0.93 miles)—long enough to accommodate light transport aircraft and some fighter jets.
A sheltered port is also in the works, which would enhance the operational range of Philippine maritime forces in surrounding waters.