Second Thomas Shoal: Submerged Reef
A recent incident in the Second Thomas Shoal area, renewed global interest in the flashpoint between the Philippines and China.
- Second Thomas Shoal is a submerged reef located in the Spratly Islands in South China Sea.
- It is low-tide elevation located within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines.
- The Philippines first took possession of the Second Thomas Shoal in the late 1990s, setting an outpost on the drowned BRP Sierra Madre.
- It continues to maintain its presence there and the ship serves as a military outpost, manned by a small contingent of troops.
- The Second Thomas Shoal lies about 108 nautical miles (200 km) from the Philippine island of Palawan.
- China claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, including the Second Thomas Shoal, based on the historical and controversial Nine-dash line.
- China’s claims cut into the EEZs of Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia.
- In 2013, the Philippines had filed a case against China with the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, challenging the legality of China’s claims and activities in the South China Sea, including the Second Thomas Shoal.
- The court ruled in favour of the Philippines in 2016, but China rejected the judgment.
