About 250 Filipinos live on Thitu Island, the largest and most inhabited island of the Spratlys, in the South China Sea. But Chinese ships are never far away.

A Chinese ship has run aground in stormy weather in shallow waters off a Philippines-occupied island in the disputed South China Sea, prompting Filipino forces to go on alert.

A Chinese coast guard vessel passes by a Philippine coast guard ship near the Philippine-occupied Thitu island, locally called Pag-asa island, on Friday, Dec. 1, 2023 at the disputed South China Sea.

From the remote speck of land they call home, the residents of Thitu Island have watched China’s presence creep closer, and grow more assertive, over the past decade On a Tiny Island, 250 People ...

Thitu Island, located near Mischief Reef—one of China’s main military outposts in the Spratlys—has become a focal point in the Philippines’ defense strategy.

What To Know. On Wednesday, the People's Television Network, a Philippine state-owned broadcaster, released footage showing Chinese vessels operating off the coast of Thitu Island, well within the ...

For travelers flying into the tiny island of Thitu, the reality of China’s territorial ambition becomes instantly clear. There they are: dozens of Chinese ships surrounding a speck of land that ...

THITU ISLAND, South China Sea (AP) — Philippine forces have staged drills that included seizing an island in the South China Sea as Chinese navy ships kept watch from a distance. Philippine ...

About 250 Filipinos live on Thitu Island, the largest and most inhabited island of the Spratlys, in the South China Sea. But Chinese ships are never far away.

Philippine-occupied Thitu island, locally called Pag-asa island on Dec. 1, 2023, at the disputed South China Sea, is seen through an aircraft window. Credit: AP/Aaron Favila ...

Enter Thitu — an island that the Philippines calls Pag-asa, while China calls it Zhongye.It is the only civilian-inhabited island of the Spratlys, and its approximately 250 full-time residents ...