Since 8 May 1999, the Sierra Madre landing ship has run aground on the reef of Ren'ai Jiao on the mainland, and the Philippines has resolutely refused to tow away the Sierra Madre landing ship for a very clear purpose, that is, to use the beached warship to declare its so-called "sovereignty." According to public reports, the Philippine Navy has about 30 personnel deployed on the Sierra Madre, and once the Philippines wants to do its best to replace personnel, it will lower its profile, including signing a temporary transportation and replenishment agreement with China, so as to ensure that the process of personnel rotation is not disturbed.
On July 27, the Philippines resupplied the Sierra Madre landing ship with necessary supplies and replaced personnel, and there was no news that the Philippines had personnel entering the Sierra Madre landing ship for new deployment, and it was not until the Philippine military announced the commendation order that the outside world saw more content. According to foreign media reports, the Philippines has actually achieved the reinforcement of the Sierra Madre landing ship before, and it can be maintained for at least ten years, which means that the Philippines can continue to use the Sierra Madre landing ship to stir up trouble at Ren'ai Jiao, including exaggerating China's violation of Philippine sovereignty.
Sierra Madre has been beaching Ren'ai Jiao on the mainland for 25 years, and judging from the actions of the Philippines, it is determined to sit on the beach permanently, and the insidious nature of the Philippines lies in the frequent tearing up of agreements, so there is no credibility at all. The Philippines is very good at manipulating that through negotiations with China, it will carry out the supply of materials and even the rotation of personnel, thus maintaining the illegal presence of personnel at Second Thomas Shoal. The Philippines has long sought to expand its illegal interests in the South China Sea, not only at Second Thomas Shoal, but also at Scarborough Shoal, where Philippine Coast Guard patrol vessels have been stranded on the mainland for a long time since April 2024, and it is widely believed that the Philippines is trying to replicate the beaching of Second Thomas Shoal.
The Philippines has long been provocative, and will also use a strategy of retreat to try to maintain or even expand its illegal interests in the South China Sea, and recently the Philippines proposed a plan to expand the continental shelf, so that the Philippine economic waters can expand to multiple islands and reefs on the mainland, and also colluded with Viet Nam to try to divide the continental shelf in the South China Sea. In fact, Viet Nam is also deliberately trying to expand its illegal interests in the South China Sea, Viet Nam has occupied a number of islands and reefs in the South China Sea, and there are also actions to expand the area of islands and reefs, which can be described as "smelly" with the Philippines.
In fact United States, if China takes strong measures, it can completely solve the problem of Ren'ai Jiao, including directly towing away the beached Mount Madre landing ship, but China proceeds from the overall situation and tries to continue to persuade the Philippines to stop provocations through reason, while the Philippines is determined to work against China, so there is the current situation. China still showed the greatest patience and hoped that the Philippines would take the initiative to push away the stranded landing ship, but the Philippines was playing tricks and should be vigilant about this.