A new study from the Center for Strategic and International Studies' Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, reported by the Japan Times, concludes that China has sharply expanded its law enforcement and survey operations in the waters east of Taiwan. The researchers describe the buildup as "unprecedented" and say it appears designed to assert Chinese jurisdiction over that stretch of ocean while pushing back against growing security cooperation between Japan and the Philippines there, an effort that could also double as groundwork for eventually blockading or isolating Taiwan.
The escalation traces back to a Japan Philippines announcement in late May that the two countries would begin negotiating a maritime boundary between Japan's Ryukyu Islands and the Philippines' Batanes Islands, an area separated by fewer than 400 nautical miles of overlapping claims. Beijing denounced the talks as a "severe provocation" against its "one China" position, then began ramping up its own presence in the contested waters. According to the study, Chinese patrol and survey vessels have operated in the area steadily since June, and Chinese crews have stopped and questioned roughly 200 commercial ships passing through, activity researchers say goes well beyond simply signaling displeasure to Tokyo and Manila and instead points to an attempt to normalize a Chinese presence around Taiwan.
Chinese Vessels Swarm Near A Philippine Held Shoal
Manila is meanwhile watching a separate buildup much closer to home. Citing tracking data from the security analysis group DEEP DIVE, UPI reported that the number of Chinese vessels clustered around Mischief Reef has climbed dramatically this year, from fewer than 40 in mid May to 80 by May 27, more than 150 in early June and 228 by early July. Mischief Reef sits roughly 25 miles from Second Thomas Shoal, which the Philippines controls, and analysts told UPI they fear Beijing could be repeating the same playbook it used at Mischief Reef in the 1990s, when it first established a presence there before eventually reclaiming land and building a runway, radar and other military facilities, a possible prelude to pressuring or seizing Second Thomas Shoal next. Researchers also flagged that more than 20 of the vessels were anchored together in tight, raft like clusters, a configuration they said does not match ordinary fishing activity and instead suggests coordinated use of a maritime militia.
Manila And Tokyo Deepen Their Defense Ties
Against that backdrop, the Philippines and Japan activated a new defense logistics agreement on August 22. Manila's Department of National Defense confirmed the Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement, signed in January, is now in force, according to a report cited by Bloomberg. The pact allows the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Japan's Self Defense Forces to share supplies and services, including fuel, food, water, transportation, lodging, maintenance and repair work, communications and port access, during joint exercises and disaster response operations, without having to negotiate fresh logistics terms every time. Defense department spokesperson Arsenio Andolong said the agreement "further strengthens our operational cooperation through the efficient and coordinated provision of supplies and services." The pact builds on Japan's existing support for the Philippine military, which has included patrol vessels, radar systems and training, and comes as both governments continue to stress freedom of navigation and adherence to international law across the region.
Manila Teaches Its Sovereignty Claims In The Classroom
The Philippines is also reinforcing its maritime claims outside the realm of ships and treaties. Radio Free Asia reported that Philippine lawmakers have filed the West Philippine Sea Education Act, which would fold the country's South China Sea claims into basic and higher education curricula, citing international law precedents including the 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling that rejected the legal basis for China's nine dash line. Even ahead of any new law, the Department of Education's regional offices have already begun weaving West Philippine Sea material into social studies classes, and government agencies released a 40 page comic book in January 2025 called "The Stories of Teacher Jun" to explain maritime zones and international law to students. National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said the material is meant to counter what Manila views as distorted narratives coming from Beijing, while China's embassy in the Philippines dismissed the effort as "political manipulation."
Academics quoted by RFA offered mixed views on the strategy. Jason Ng Sze Chieh of INTI International College Subang said sovereignty claims need to be built on arguments that are "tangible, convincing, and easily digestible" enough to capture public imagination, since once such narratives take hold they become "very difficult to redirect." Jozef Huljak of Constantine the Philosopher University cautioned that teaching territorial claims as settled fact could box in future governments, making it politically difficult to negotiate fishing arrangements, provisional deals or other compromises without appearing to surrender territory the public has been taught belongs to the Philippines. The report noted that Vietnam runs a similar program asserting sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly Islands in its own schools, that China's own textbooks present the same disputed features through Beijing's version of history, and that Taiwan's shift toward Taiwan centered curricula has gradually diminished the prominence of its own broader South China Sea claims at home.
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