August 10, 2023

Editor's note: On August 5, in disregard of China's repeated goodwill gestures and sincerity, the Philippines sent two vessels that intruded into the adjacent waters of Ren'ai Jiao and tried to deliver construction materials for overhauling and reinforcing the grounded military vessel. China Coast Guard stopped them. This episode of Reality Check breaks down the motives behind such an action and Philippines' increasingly hardened position against China. 

Hey guys, welcome to Reality Check, I'm Huang Jiyuan.

Back in 1999, the Philippines grounded a warship near Ren'ai Jiao in the South China Sea. It repeatedly promised to remove it, but nothing happened. On August 5, two Philippine vessels sailed into the area not to remove, but to deliver construction materials for overhauling and reinforcing that ship. China had repeatedly warned against that action, but eventually the China Coast Guard (CCG) had to step in to stop them.

It's not the first incident this year. In April, the CCG had to stop two Philippine vessels from barging into these waters. According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the vessels carried journalists on board aimed at deliberately showing faults with China and to hype a potential incident.

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