Philippines Conducts Rare Interdiction Targeting Chinese Fishermen
In a rare intercept and boarding operation, Philippine personnel seized alleged illegal fishing equipment from a Chinese boat near the BRP Sierra Madre, the decaying WWII landing ship that serves as a makeshift outpost at Second Thomas Shoal.
The Sierra Madre is a longtime flashpoint between Chinese and Philippine forces: China claims Second Thomas Shoal as its own, and has demanded that Manila withdraw and remove the wrecked landing craft from the reef. Chinese forces have repeatedly attempted to blockade the outpost, and in years past, water-cannoning and close-quarters...
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