A World War II-vintage US tank-landing ship (LST) has become the center of the territorial dispute between China and the Philippines over the Spratlys, according to recent articles in the Global Times and various Philippine media.
The LST BRF Sierra Madre used by the US Navy during WWII had been handed over to the Philippine Navy. In 1999 the aging ship ran aground on the Ayungin Reef (also known as Second Thomas Reef) in the Spratly islands in the South China Sea. That accident proved to be a boon for the Philippines in its struggle to establish control over the reef. The task of protecting and maintaining the ship has served as a pretext for maintaining a military presence which has given the Philippines effective control over the reef ever since.
The reef is said to have been an important traditional fishing ground for Chinese fishermen as well as a place to ride out storms. Prior to the running aground of the Sierra Madre — which Beijing charged was deliberate — China had been trying to mark the shoal as its territory by setting up markers. Those efforts were trumped by the ground of the ship. China’s demands that the ship be towed away have been ignored.
In a bid to contest de facto Filipino control, in early May China sent a warship, two surveillance boats and a fishing fleet of about 30 vessels to Ayungin Reef, according to the Global Times. In response the Philippines sent three military ships on May 9 and lodged a protest against China the next day. China retorted that it had the right to patrol the Spratlys (Nansha) since the islands fall under its sovereignty.
The outcome of the dispute may turn in large part on whether the Philippines can keep the rusting hulk from literally crumbling into the sea. In March the PLA Navy conducted a five-hour sea and water patrol of the area and concluded that the Sierra Madre had already disappeared into the water.
In fact, the ship remains aground, though it has slipped lower into the sea, prompting the Philippines to make a frantic effort at preventing further deterioration. China, meanwhile, has been increasing its naval presence in the area to deter any large-scale restoration effort.
Cooking up various pretexts for maintaining a presence in the Spratlys is an effective tactic that has also been used by China. In Mischief Reef, another area of the Spratlys, Beijing has set up what amounts to military fortifications under the guise of building shelters for fishermen, Manila has complained.
These territorial disputes reflect in part the greater ability of the news media to focus public attention on relatively obscure issues and in part the growth of national resources to a level capable of sustaining such squabbles at entertaining levels. The farce around the Sierra Madre is likely to adorn news articles for years to come.
