For centuries, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei and China have disputed territories in the South China Sea. But China’s claims of overriding sovereignty over the entire sea, supported by annexations and aggressive military patrols, have turned the sea into a global hotspot.
On a deserted beach in the north of the Philippines, 200 heavily armed Marines train alongside Filipino soldiers. Never have tensions between the Philippines and Beijing been so high and the United States is pulling out all the stops to prove they are ready to repel a Chinese invasion.
According to international law, the Scarborough Shoal belongs to the Philippines. But, in 2012, China illegally seized it and prohibited access to outsiders. Filipino fisherman have been harassed and attacked. In this documentary, we join a coast guard patrol and are soon surrounded by Chinese militias, who attack with water cannons and ram the patrol boat, damaging its navigation equipment. It’s a move that could easily have killed the crew but attacks like this are regular occurrences.
At the heart of these disputes are the Spratly Islands, an archipelago of islets and coral reefs, disputed by six countries. China has already annexed seven of the Spratly reefs and transformed them into military bases. In Taiwan, the pressure is mounting. Xi Jinping has officially announced that the island is an “inalienable” part of China and, in Taipei, they are now planning for a possible military invasion. “I feel very scared,” confides one woman, “China is nearby and there is always a threat.”