Naval News – The Philippine Navy received today BRP Miguel Malvar, the first of its two guided-missile corvettes from South Korea, amid China’s growing aggression in the South China Sea.

War on the Rocks – Manila is implementing a deterrence posture that imposes reputational costs to China for its use of “gray-zone tactics” in the South China Sea. We use the term gray-zone tactics to define “a strategic approach that operates between conventional warfare and peacetime competition.” The Philippines’ “below-the-threshold” approach to deterrence uses non-military means to impose costs, limiting the risk of escalation while establishing credible threats. Reportedly, Manila has integrated transparency initiatives as a component of its January 2024 Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept.

Naval News – Manila announced that the Navy will receive two submarines for the defense of the country’s archipelago in the largest and final stage of its military modernization program.

Naval News – The Armed Forces of the Philippines said it was conducting an investigation into the origin and purpose of a submarine drone found in the waters of central Philippines.

War on the Rocks – Of all the flashpoints facing the Trump administration on Jan. 20, 2025, China’s campaign of intimidation and maritime occupation in the South China Sea may prove the most concerning for U.S. interests and preventing war in the Indo-Pacific. Beijing has spent decades occupying, building, and militarizing islands in those resource-rich waters through which trillions of dollars of trade pass annually. China’s incessant maritime incursions have ignored the sovereignty of its neighbors, violated international law, and given it strategic footholds for exercising political, economic, and military leverage. The aggressiveness of China’s expansionism has spiked in the last 18 months, with the Philippines as the focal point of its ire. Beijing’s timing is not coincidental. The Philippines, a mutual defense treaty ally of the United States, is entering a pivotal 12-month period in which a convergence of critical issues promises seismic implications for not only its national security, defense, and foreign policy trajectory but also its internal stability. As Beijing has pushed the region to the brink, it has dragged the Philippines to center stage. 

USNI News – The Philippine Navy and Air Force are set to receive small boats and radars from Japan through a $10.6 million Official Security Assistance grant that Tokyo says will strengthen Manila’s capabilities in the South China Sea and Luzon Strait.

USNI News – The Philippine Coast Guard deployed two patrol vessels to protect Philippine fishermen at Iroquois Reef following reports of harassment from a Chinese Navy helicopter at the disputed South China Sea maritime feature.

USNI News – The Pentagon has revealed the existence of a forward-deployed task force in the Philippines focused on supporting Manila’s maritime operations in the South China Sea. 

USNI News – Philippine President Marcos passed two maritime laws last week in a move that Manila says will strengthen its sovereignty over waters within the country’s archipelago and the South China Sea.

USNI News – The U.S. will support Manila’s plan to build a new naval pier at a Philippine naval base in Subic Bay.

USNI News – The Philippines held a joint patrol in the South China Sea that included forces from Japan, Australia, the U.S. and New Zealand on Saturday.

USNI News – Chinese forces surrounded and rammed the flagship of the Philippine Coast Guard today at Escoda Shoal in the seventh scuffle this month between Beijing and Manila in the South China Sea.

Naval News – The Philippine Marine Corps eyes the Littoral Response Group concept in an effort to strengthen its archipelagic defense capabilities.

Center for Maritime Security – Aside from statements reaffirming American commitment to the U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty, the U.S. response has thus far been hollow. This sends the signal that “gray zone” aggression against Philippine sovereignty will go unpunished. To help avoid a repeat of Scarborough Shoal at the Second Thomas Shoal, the United States must go beyond rhetoric and stand with its ally by imposing meaningful material costs on Beijing in response to Chinese escalation. 

War on the Rocks – The agreement this past weekend, will purportedly allow the Philippines to temporarily conduct resupply missions to the BRP Sierra Madre without militarized interference, while China maintains its claim that the atoll is firmly within Chinese territorial water. As the text of this agreement has yet to be made public, we cannot firmly say how these gains were won, but it is possible that the recent strengthening of the U.S.-Philippines alliance, or even explicit offers from the United States to assist in defending the atoll have caused China to reconsider its aggressive stance. However, agreements with China built on détente have historically failed to achieve their goals. If recent history is any guide, the best way to avoid a further escalation of the conflict in the South China Sea is to make clear that Beijing cannot conquer the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone at anything like an acceptable cost.

Naval News – The Maritime Security Battalion aims to secure Philippine maritime routes and bring the Philippine Marine Corps into the littorals.

Center for Maritime Strategy – Washington should immediately partner with Manila to stage an overwhelming show of force in the waters around Second Thomas Shoal to ward off Chinese interference in efforts to resupply the Sierra Madre garrison. Doing so would send a clear message to Beijing that its smaller neighbors do not stand alone in the face of China’s maritime aggression. 

USNI News – A Philippine sailor suffered severe injuries when Chinese forces blocked an Armed Forces of the Philippines resupply mission in the South China Sea, Pentagon officials confirmed to USNI News. The AFP mission to resupply the BRP Sierra Madre (LT-57) outpost at Second Thomas Shoal also resulted in damage to an unknown number of Philippine vessels.

Naval News – According to recently released satellite imagery, the Philippines’ first BrahMos anti-ship missile base is taking shape at a naval installation facing the South China Sea. 

Naval News – The new Philippine Air Force forward operating base is set to host the service’s maritime patrol assets dedicated for the South China Sea.

Naval News – Manila and Tokyo finalized their largest maritime security project to date, which will see Japan fund the construction of five large patrol ships for the Philippine Coast Guard. 

USNI News – The following is a list of Chinese attempts to block the resupply missions to the Philippine Armed Forces outpost BRP Sierra Madre at Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea since August.

USNI News – Six days after China Coast Guard cutters blasted out the windows of a Philippine resupply ship with a water cannon, Manila is weighing whether a 70-year-old mutual defense pact could compel the U.S. military to defend Filipino forces in the South China Sea as a result.

USNI News – Amid increasing tensions in the South China Sea with China and fears of how a conflict over Taiwan could jeopardize the country’s territories in the Luzon Strait, the Philippines is looking to prioritize its naval forces in a revised military modernization plan.

Naval News – The Philippines has confirmed that it will acquire submarines for its fleet as part of efforts to strengthen its territorial defense amid China’s aggression in the West Philippine Sea.