An ongoing standoff between China and the Philippines over the Second Thomas Shoal — a remote shallow coral reef in the Spratly Islands — could be a new flashpoint in the countries' ongoing territorial tensions in the South China Sea. On May 29, Philippines Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said Beijing had kept its vessels, including a naval frigate, around the Second Thomas Shoal (which China calls Renai Shoal and the Philippines have named Ayungin Shoal) since the vessels were dispatched in early May.
The coral reef, which is 15 kilometers (9 miles) long and 5 kilometers wide, is located approximately 105 nautical miles (120 miles) from the Philippines' western island of Palawan and is part of the Philippines' 200-nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone. The reef has been under the Philippines' control since 1999, when a tank landing ship, the U.S.-built BRP Sierra Madre, was run aground deliberately to mark the territory. The vessel has since served as an outpost for the Philippine military. Located very close to the southeastern fringe of Beijing's nine-dash line — a loose boundary line demarcating China's maritime claims in the South China Sea — the reef apparently gained Beijing's attention recently, and China has been pushing its territorial claim as justification for its presence in the water. The Second Thomas Shoal also is a strategic pathway to Reed Bank (called Recto Bank by the Philippines), which is believed to hold oil and natural gas resources that have piqued China's interest.
Beijing's plan to gradually enhance its physical presence along the maritime boundary with the Philippines largely was driven by the Philippines' insufficient naval and coast guard capability and the lack of attention or assistance from outside powers, particularly the United States, the Philippines' security ally. China's actions around these islands have constituted a small-scale encroachment in its disputes with the Philippines and allowed China to test boundaries and highlight the United States' lack of action on behalf of its treaty allies in the region despite Washington's intentions to bulk up its presence in Asia. Ultimately, Beijing's intention may not be to monopolize the South China Sea, but to create a situation in which the United States will be forced to acknowledge China's interests and presence in the maritime sphere.
