The conflict in the South China Sea

Expert: Ship repair may have made China see red

The Philippines is secretly trying to refit a warship grounded on the coral reef in the South China Sea that led to a confrontation with China last week, sources told the Financial Times.

The ship was deliberately run aground in 1999 to bolster the Philippines' claim to the reef, and in recent months the country has reportedly undertaken efforts aimed at extending its life.

According to the official Philippine version, it is only about giving those stationed on board a tolerable existence. China expert Bonnie Glaser says that Beijing is probably disturbed by the fact that the Philippines seems to have brought construction materials there.

- China has been waiting for 25 years for the ship to fall apart and slide off the reef.

In 2016, the International Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled that China's claim to the reef is groundless.

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New clip shows knives and axes: "A bunch of barbarians"

Chinese coast guard personnel brandished knives and an ax during the boarding of a Philippine Navy vessel earlier this week. This is stated by the Philippine military according to several media.

According to China, there was no direct confrontation, but a clip published by the Wall Street Journal, among others, shows Chinese officials hitting a Philippine boat with sticks and a person puncturing an inflatable boat with a knife. At least one person is holding an axe. A Philippine official says they were confronted by "a bunch of barbarians"

The incident occurred near a reef claimed by both countries.

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Philippines: China stole weapons from Navy ships

China's coast guard is accused of boarding a ship belonging to the Philippine Navy and seizing weapons earlier this week, Bloomberg reports.

Manila is now demanding that Beijing pay for the damage the boat suffered during the confrontation and that the coast guard return all the rifles that were seized.

- They have no right or legal authority to hijack our operations and destroy Philippine ships operating within our economic zone, said Philippine military chief Romeo Brawner during a press conference on Wednesday.

Beijing has maintained that its actions in the South China Sea are legal and that it took "control measures" on the Philippine vessel on Monday.