Tensions Surge in the South China Sea as PLA Confronts U.S., Philippines Presence

View of the guided missile destroyer USS Higgins conducting a freedom of navigation operation near Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on August 13, 2025. Image via the Philippine Coast Guard.

Chinese warships and fighter jets were out in force on Wednesday near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea in a bid to push out a pair of U.S. warships and a Philippine Coast Guard surveillance plane flying overhead.

The two U.S. warships, guided missile destroyer USS Higgins and the littoral combat ship USS Cincinnati, conducted a freedom of navigation operation in the same area where a Chinese warship collided with a China Coast Guard vessel on Monday while trying to intercept a Philippine ship.

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by Eric Olander

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