A fleet of 40 Chinese ships, consisting of 6 Coast Guard vessels, 4 Navy ships, and the rest belonging to the "Chinese maritime militia," cornered 2 Filipino vessels within the Philippines' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). According to Beijing, the entire South China Sea, including the Philippines' EEZ, belongs to China and no one else.

These Filipino ships were on a resupply mission for a small Filipino garrison stationed in their EEZ.