Philippine supply boats breach a Chinese coast guard blockade in the hotly contested South China Sea

ABOARD BRP CABRA (AP) — Two Philippine boats breached a Chinese coast guard blockade in a confrontation in the South China Sea to deliver food and other supplies to Filipino forces guarding a contested shoal. However, two Philippine coast guard vessels escorting the supply boat were blocked by at least four Chinese coast guard ships for about five hours on Tuesday (Aug. 22, 2023). A United States Navy plane circled overhead during the encounter. It’s the latest flare-up from territorial disputes in the busy sea that has become a delicate fault line in the U.S.-China rivalry. The Philippine coast guard invited a small group of journalists to join its ships as part of a strategy aimed at exposing China’s actions in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims virtually in its entirety.