Philippines secretly reinforces ship at centre of South China Sea dispute

“Beijing is probably aware and infuriated that the Philippines has successfully delivered construction materials...China has waited 25 years for the ship to disintegrate and slide off the reef and continued escalation against the Philippines suggests that they will not back down and admit defeat,” said Bonnie Glaser, a China expert at the German Marshall Fund.

“The potential for an armed conflict over this tiny, submerged feature is increasing.”