Timeline Shows Latest Flare-Up of China-Philippines Territorial Dispute

Chinese and Philippine vessels engaged in cat-and-mouse clashes over the weekend in a significant escalation of the neighbors' already tense dispute in the South China Sea.

Each government has accused the other of violating its sovereignty, and of destabilizing the region. The weekend's incidents have led some in Manila to call for the expulsion of Beijing's envoy.

The following is a timeline of the events leading up to the clashes on December 9-10, as well as the immediate fallout from the episodes centered on a pair of contested features in the energy-rich sea, as well as a defiant but doomed civilian-led "Christmas convoy."

The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines didn't respond to Newsweek's request for comment by publication time.

Friday, December 8

A portion of the civilian coalition "Atin Ito," which is Tagalog for "It's Ours," set sail on the morning of Friday, December 8, from the capital Manila for the island province of Palawan, where it would take on additional volunteers.

This "Christmas convoy," as it came to be known, sought to push back against China's claim over the Philippines' exclusive economic zone, while delivering supplies to military personnel and fishermen "frontliners" in far-flung areas.

Originally set to conclude December 13, the journey would take the "Christmas convoy" through the vicinity of the hotly disputed waters around the submerged reef called Second Thomas Shoal, where a rusting World War II-era tank landing ship, BRP Sierra Madre, has sat for 24 years since the Philippines grounded the warship to stake its claim.

However, organizers said they had promised the multi-agency National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea that they would steer clear of the Sierra Madre itself and allow a separate government mission to supply the troops stationed there.

Chinese embassy in the U.S. spokesperson Liu Pengyu told Newsweek that Manila was "hyping up" its maritime dispute with Beijing, violating Chinese sovereignty and disrupting stability in the South China Sea.

Saturday, December 9

Locally-based volunteers join up with others, who had arrived from Manila, in the northern Palawan town of El Nido on the morning of Saturday, December 9.

Meanwhile, a three-ship Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resource (BFAR) mission reportedly encountered Chinese maritime forces at around 8 a.m. while en route to the China-claimed rich fishing grounds at Scarborough Shoal to bring supplies to Philippine fishing boats waiting there.

Chinese coast guard vessels were caught on video blasting the Philippine vessels with water cannons, which BFAR employees later said had damaged radar monitoring equipment.

In addition, one of the Chinese ships targeted its Philippine counterparts with a suspected sonic weapon, the U.S. and Philippine government said. This allegedly caused some crew members ""severe temporary discomfort."

Nevertheless, the mission managed to deliver fuel and other provisions to 30 fishermen.

Sunday, December 10

The over 40-boat-strong Christmas convoy set out early on Sunday, December 10, for more remote parts of the West Philippine Sea—Manila's name for the part of the South China Sea lying within the Philippine exclusive economic zone.

However, before the convoy could reach the Philippine-held Lawak Island, it attracted unwanted attention from the Chinese navy and coast guard, with one Chinese coast guard vessel allegedly passing through the convoy at one point.

"Erring on the side of caution, Atin Ito, in consultation with the Philippine Coast Guard, agreed to return to El Nido, Palawan after the constant shadowing of four Chinese vessels, comprised of two Chinese Navy ships, one Chinese Coast Guard vessel, and one Chinese cargo ship," the coalition said in a statement carried by local media.

The bulk of the vessels in the convoy abandoned the mission and made their way back to Palawan, but the crew of one boat, the M/V Chowee, managed to evade Chinese forces and carry on to Lawak Island.

Philippine supply boats and their coast guard escorts experienced "reckless and dangerous harassment at close range," according to the National Task Force—West Philippine Sea, when Chinese coast guard and maritime militia ships intercepted them on their way to Second Thomas Shoal.

Video shows the coast guard ships deploying their water cannons and a supply ship colliding with a Chinese coast guard vessel as it made its escape. The head of the Philippine military, Gen. Romeo Brawner, was aboard this supply vessel, but arrived at the Sierre Madre successfully.

The water blasts allegedly damaged the other supply ship, which had to be towed back to port.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared in a social media post that night that "aggression and provocations perpetrated by the China Coast Guard and their Chinese Maritime Militia against our vessels and personnel over the weekend have only further steeled our determination to defend and protect our nation's sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction in the West Philippine Sea."

Monday, December 11

On the morning of Monday, December 11, the final vessel of the Christmas convoy, the Chowee, arrived at Lawak Island to unload its cargo. Some of these supplies are reportedly destined for the Sierra Madre.

That morning, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Philippine vessels had "intruded into waters adjacent to Ren'ai Jiao [Second Thomas Shoal] in China's Nansha Qundao [Spratly Islands]" in an effort to deliver building supplies to "the illegally grounded warship at the reef."

In Manila, a chorus of leading political voices called for Chinese ambassador Huang Xilian to be expelled in response to China's actions over the weekend.

The U.S., Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and various European countries publicly expressed concern over the allegedly reckless behavior of Chinese forces, if not condemning it outright, and urged adherance to the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

An international arbitral tribunal in 2016 ruled that China's sweeping claims over the South China Sea violated UNCLOS. China chose not to participate in the proceedings and has called the ruling invalid.