These two ships are from the Chinese coast guard, and the ship they're targeting with high-powered water cannons is a Philippine supply vessel. We've been here for almost three hours and the situation has gotten more tense. An international court says the Philippines has the right to extract resources in these waters. Since the threat has grown, we must do more to defend our territory. China doesn't see it that way. It's the sixth time in eight months this kind of incident has happened, and it's a growing problem for the world. The Philippines is an ally of the United States. Second Thomas Shoal is
the most dangerous flashpoint today between the United States and China. This is truly a crisis waiting to happen. China and the Philippines have wrangled over control of these waters for decades. But in the past year, tensions are close to the highest they've ever been. Why? We are on board a Philippine Coast Guard ship in the middle of the South China Sea, and this is the closest we've ever been to a Chinese coast guard vessel. It seems to be blocking our way. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
is keen for more journalists to see the increasingly fractious
confrontations with Chinese vessels. The Philippine Coast Guard vessel was escorting this green boat to Second Thomas Shoal. It was a routine mission to rotate
and resupply troops on this rusty ship from the World War II era that's
been stationed there since 1999. A grounded ship known as the Sierra Madre
has become a de facto base for the Philippines, who use it as
an outpost to protect its own sovereignty. This shoal has also been the area of much tensions over the past months. There have been reports of clashes and water cannoning against Philippine boats even before we came in there. Second Thomas Shoal is part of the many reefs and shoals in the Spratly Islands,
which are much closer to the Philippines in the South China Sea than China. The waterway encompasses
1.4 million square miles, larger than the Mediterranean. Much of the sea is disputed. China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines, and Taiwan all claim specific land features. It's a thriving fishing zone
yielding some 10% of global catch and a vast amount of trade transits through. In 2016, that amounted to some $3 trillion, including more than 30% of the global
maritime crude oil trade. Critically, it also holds very promising
oil and gas deposits, something that each of the claimant nations would love
to get their hands on in the coming years. If the Philippines
can extract these resources, it could be a real benefit as the gas field that supplies
20% of the Philippine main island’s power is forecast to be depleted
within the next three years. But here's the catch. China claims the biggest patch
of the South China Sea, making it difficult for the Philippines
to tap into these reserves. China asserts this area is a part of its territory, citing a map from 1947. In 2016, a UN-backed court ruled that China's claim of historic rights was unlawful and the Philippines has the sovereign right
to extract resources like fish and oil. China, of course, rejects the ruling outright. But until now, the Philippines
has had a very difficult time to enforce the ruling, even though it was in its favor. It doesn't quite have the military
capacity to enforce those rules. UNCLOS itself doesn’t have the ability to enforce. It's not just fishing and energy. These waters hold military and strategic
value for all of the area's claimants and crucially, the US. Maintaining freedom of navigation is a global interest for the United States, and it is important
in the South China Sea. But there's also other interests, I think, that the United States has, and that is international law of protecting the ability of countries
to really exercise sovereignty. And for the smaller countries that are claimants in the South China Sea, their livelihood for many of their people
depend on those resources. So China wants to assert its sovereignty and deny US military access in the region. From reefs and corals to military bases, this is what it's been building in the last decade. Over time, we're seeing the establishment of airstrips,
of listening posts, of refueling stations so that China can send its vessels to those islands, and to be able to better patrol much of the greater South China Sea. Today, Chinese operate Navy ships, coast guard vessels, maritime militia 24/7 around virtually every feature that is disputed. From the beginning of our first
sighting of the Chinese Navy vessel we were with Chinese vessels the whole time. Even when we were going back to the mainland, Chinese vessels were following us. I felt like we were constantly being watched. This is Thitu Island. Here, the Marcos government
is rushing to develop the land so it can try to hold its own
against the threat from China. But this has resulted in tensions nearby. Things haven't always been so heated. Remember that ruling that gave the Philippines rights to resources? Former President Rodrigo Duterte
said he didn't want to risk a war by trying to enforce that decision. So he decided to seek better ties
with China over the US. His presidency was a real test for the US-Philippine alliance. He rolled out the Build Build Build program, trying to draw in more investment
for infrastructure projects, including from China. Chinese loans and grants to the Philippines jumped from $1.6 million in 2016 to $621 million in 2020. A lot of those projects, whether they be from the Belt and Road Initiative or otherwise, never materialized. In the last few years of his presidency, Duterte softened his view on the US, once again allowing joint
military exercises to take place. In comes Marcos in 2022, and relations with the US got even warmer. Marcos has embraced a much more assertive posture in the South China Sea. A big part of his strategy is transparency. I think the trip managed to somewhat expose China's aggressive actions
in the South China Sea. China has maintained
its actions are legitimate. A year into his presidency, Marcos gave the US access to four additional military sites. Three of these locations
are close to Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy
that China considers its own and has vowed to take by force if necessary. Taiwan is always nervous
about whether the United States would come to its aid in the event
that China tried to seize Taiwan by force. If the Philippines were to get caught in a hot conflict with China, and the United States’ response,
as I believe that it would, come to the Philippines aid, I think that
that would increase the confidence of US allies all around the world. The US and the Philippines have a mutual defense treaty dating back to 1951, and the circumstances that may
trigger US involvement have become more clear recently. If any serviceman, Filipino serviceman is killed by an attack
from any foreign power, then that is time to invoke the mutual defense treaty. Any attack on Philippine aircraft,
vessels or armed forces, in the South China Sea would invoke
our mutual defense treaty. But no one wants to start a war
over rocks and reefs. Just very recently that the US and Chinese military officials
finally were able to gather in a meeting that hasn't taken
place in well over a year. The last thing anyone would like
is for conflict to arise. This is not poking the bear, as it were. We are trying to do quite the opposite. Still, the combination of new
leadership in Manila, rival claims on resources, and the presence of Chinese
and US military ships mean any accident can lead
to unexpected consequences. Leave immediately. At one point, I was concerned
that the smaller boat would sink and will not be able
to withstand that much spray of water. Even from where we were,
we saw how forceful it was. Wars have been started over a lot less. Southeast Asian leaders are anxious over
the prospect of a war between the US and China, two partners
that they depend on dearly, whether it be over
Taiwan or in the South China Sea.
