BRP Sierra Madre: The Waves of Uncertainty Surrounding the Sentry of the Second Thomas Shoal
The BRP Sierra Madre acts as the Philippines’ stronghold over the Second Thomas Shoal against Chinese advances in the South China Sea. In the past year, tensions in the region have escalated, with both nations’ coast guard services engaged in heated confrontations. Due to the shoal’s strategic location, both countries employed risky strategies to pursue their goals of controlling this location. Hence, turning the shoal and the BRP Sierra Madre into the South China Sea’s new geopolitical flashpoint towards the boundaries of a possible conflict.
