Second Thomas Shoal

Major developments in the South China Sea in 2024 do not augur well for 2025. 

The confrontations at Scarborough and Sabina shoals indicate that Beijing has no intention of easing off on its pressure campaign in disputed waters.

Faced with a country indifferent to reputational costs, Manila’s campaign to illuminate China’s gray-zone activities in the South China Sea is producing diminishing returns.

The incident comes a week after a similar encounter near the shoal, which lies 140 kilometers off the coast of the Philippines' westernmost island, Palawan.

An analysis of the Philippines’ recent resupply mission to Second Thomas Shoal suggests that the understanding can, in fact, satisfy both sides’ red lines.

The two nations are strengthening their maritime cooperation against a backdrop of Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea.

The announcement caps off two years that have seen a considerable strategic convergence between the two long-standing allies.

Manila said that “no untoward incidents" took place during Saturday's mission to Second Thomas Shoal, but the two sides continue to trade public barbs.

The agreement, which is designed to reduce tensions at Second Thomas Shoal, was the subject of immediate disagreement between Beijing and Manila.

Despite pledging to de-escalate tensions at Second Thomas Shoal, Beijing and Manila continue to exchange rhetorical fire.

The two sides pledged this week to de-escalate the situation after a June 17 clash at a disputed shoal in the Spratly Islands.

The "frank and constructive discussions” came two weeks after a major clash close to Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands.

Will Manila request greater U.S. assistance in its ongoing stand-off with China at Second Thomas Shoal?

The country's top diplomat says that the country will pursue "confidence building measures," but is "not blind" to recent incidents in the South China Sea.

The BRP Sierra Madre, a warship grounded on a shoal in the Spratly Islands, has become the focus of growing tensions with China.

After eight Philippine marines were injured in a melee with Chinese forces this week, some are questioning the response of Manila's foreign allies.

Once again, Chinese and Philippine vessels collided during an attempted resupply to Filipino troops at Second Thomas Shoal.

The diplomatic charade masks the key question: Would China refrain from seizing Second Thomas Shoal if the Philippines was forced to withdraw?

Public attitudes toward China in the Philippines have dipped considerably as tensions have increased in the South China Sea.

The country's military chief claims that the incident saw Chinese boats come within five meters of the Philippine outpost at Second Thomas Shoal.

A Senate Committee is investigating the Chinese Embassy’s alleged recording of a phone call between Carlos and a Chinese military attaché in January.

Over the weekend, Manila accused Beijing of attempting to create an "artificial island" at Sabina Shoal, an unoccupied reef 75 nautical miles from Palawan island.

The recording, released this week by the Chinese embassy in Manila, purports to lay out a "new model" for managing tensions at Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands.

The past year has seen a string of confrontations between Philippine and Chinese vessels in contested parts of the South China Sea.