Philippine supply boats breach a Chinese coast guard blockade in the hotly contested South China Sea

Two Philippine boats breached a Chinese coast guard blockade in a confrontation in the South China Sea to deliver food and other supplies to Filipino forces guarding a contested shoal. However, two Philippine coast guard vessels escorting the supply boat were blocked by at least four Chinese coast guard ships for about five hours on Tuesday. A United States Navy plane circled overhead during the encounter. It's the latest flare-up from territorial disputes in the busy sea that has become a delicate fault line in the U.S.-China rivalry. The Philippine coast guard invited a small group of journalists to join its ships as part of a strategy aimed at exposing China’s actions in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims virtually in its entirety.