The WW2 Ship That's Been Holding Off China for 27 Years

In May 1999, the Philippine Navy deliberately ran a rusting World War Two ship aground on Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal) - 105 nautical miles off Palawan, well inside the Philippines' exclusive economic zone. The BRP Sierra Madre was built in 1944 as LST-821 and fought in the Pacific before serving in Vietnam as USS Harnett County. Ever since, a small detachment of Filipino marines has lived aboard the disintegrating hull - a floating base that keeps the Philippine flag on the reef. China claims the shoal under its nine-dash line (struck down by a 2016 tribunal) and has tried to choke off the ship: coast guard water cannons smashed resupply boats in March 2024, and in June 2024 Chinese personnel rammed and boarded Philippine navy boats with knives and axes - eight Filipinos were hurt and one sailor lost a thumb. A provisional deal has kept resupply missions calm since late 2024. But the world's largest coast guard still circles a single rusting WWII ship - and the marines are still there. Follow Money Maps for more geopolitics, mapped. #Philippines #AyunginShoal #SierraMadre #WestPhilippineSea #SouthChinaSea #China #Geopolitics #MoneyMaps #Shorts