4. PHILIPPINES - Beijing Blocks Second Thomas Resupply - JAMES FANELL & GORDON CHANG 093026

1855 MANILA Beijing Blocks Second Thomas Resupply
Captain James Fanell, co-host Gordon Chang: Fanell discusses aggressive Chinese maritime tactics in the South China Sea, where a coordinated force of three PLA Navy warships and eleven Coast Guard and maritime militia vessels blocked two small Philippine Coast Guard vessels resupplying the grounded outpost Sierra Madre. This blockade broke a series of fifteen successful resupply missions conducted since July 2024, demonstrating Beijing's willingness to violate international agreements and its own signed code of conduct. Fanell notes that internal purges of over one hundred senior military officers in Beijing have not disrupted the execution of these coordinated bullying operations against neighboring sovereign nations. (4)