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The South China Sea is a major world shipping route bordered by a number of countries including China, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, all of whom have staked claims to various zones in this vast expanse of water.

But tensions have grown in recent years between China who claim the majority of the South China Sea for themselves and the Philippines. Lately these tensions have escalated into a series of dangerous encounters as the two countries seek to enforce their right to disputed reefs and outcrops in these contested waters.

At the heart of this particular dispute lies a rusting warship, which belongs to the Philippine navy. It has been berthed on a submerged reef, the Second Thomas Shoal, since 1999, an outpost that the Philippine government claim belongs to them. The Sierra Madre is manned by a small Filipino crew who need a continual supply of provisions from the mainland, but the supply ships are encountering increasingly dangerous stand-offs with the Chinese coast guard in the South China Sea. The Chinese claim these encounters are just aimed at blocking an \u2018illegal transportation\u2019 of supplies. But there are concerns that this regional dispute could spark a wider conflict between China and the US, who are treaty-bound to come to the defence of the Philippines, should it come under attack.

So, on this week\u2019s Inquiry, \u2018What can a rusting warship tell us about tensions in the South China Sea?\u2019

Contributors: \nDr Hasim Turker, Independent Researcher, Istanbul, Turkey \nProfessor Steve Tsang, Director SOAS China Institute, London\nProfessor Jay Batongbacal, Director, Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, U.P. Law Centre, Philippines \nGregory Poling, Director Southeast Asia Programme and the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, Centre for Strategic and International Studies, USA\n \nPresenter: Tanya Beckett \nProducer: Jill Collins \nResearcher: Katie Morgan \nTechnical Producer: Richard Hannaford\nProduction Coordinator: Tim Fernley\nEditor: Tara McDermott

Image: The Philippine ship BRP Sierra Madre in the disputed Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea.

Credit: Lisa Marie David/Bloomberg via Getty Images.