When the world's at stake,
go beyond the headlines.

A lot happens every day. Alliances shift, leaders change, and conflicts erupt. With In Brief, we’ll help you make sense of it all. Each week, experts will dig deep on a single issue happening in the world to help you better understand it.***Last week, Chinese ships — a coast guard vessel and ships that are part of China’s notorious maritime militia — rammed a Philippine coast guard vessel and military-run supply ship off of Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea. Second Thomas Shoal is part of the Spratly Islands and is home to the BRP Sierra Madre, a ship intentionally run aground that hosts a detachment from the Philippine Marine Corps. After the collisions, the United States issued a statement reiterating its commitment to defend the Philippines in case of attack.We asked four experts to tell us more about the collision, why Chinese ships are using more aggressive tactics now, and if things could escalate further. Zack Cooper Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute & Partner, Armitage InternationalChina has been slowly increasing the pressure on the Philippines at Second Thomas Shoal for years now, but the current situation has the greatest escalation potential in a long time. The Philippines is determined to reinforce the Sierra Madre, which sits on Second Thomas Shoal. Beijing is determined to stop building supplies from getting to the dilapidated vessel. Both see the other as attempting to shift the status quo and are willing to take risks to prevent what they see as an erosion of the status quo.What makes this situation so dangerous is that China has shown a willingness to threaten the use of force against resupply vessels in the Philippines’ own exclusive economic zone. Beijing is even risking what would amount to an armed attack on a public vessel of