Watch a Risky China-Philippines Confrontation in the South China Sea | WSJ

We're aboard a ship on a mission deep into the heart of the South China Sea. It's a days long journey through some of the most contested waters in the world. You can see how close the Chinese Coast Guard is getting to our vessel. It looks like it's really about to hit us and it will end in one of the most significant confrontations between China and the Philippines in recent years. For the first time, foreign journalists have been invited to join a resupply mission traveling over 100 nautical mi

les to a remote military outpost. That's at the center of a fierce dispute between China and the Philippines. We're on board the BRP Cobra, one of two Coast Guard ships traveling from Palawan Island to meet two small supply boats. The Coast Guard's plan is to escort the supply vessels from Sabina Shoal to Second Thomas Shoal. The journey is taking us through China's nine dash line marking Beijing's expansive claims to the sea. Our destination is a reef. Both China and the Philippines claim as th

eir own. Manila deliberately grounded the Sierra Madre. A World War Two airship here in 1999 to stake its claim to the area. A permanent contingent of Filipino Marines is stationed on the rusting dilapidated wreckage missions to resupply the Sierra Madre have grown increasingly dangerous as China attempts to prevent the resupply boats from reaching their destination. Just hours into our voyage. It's clear our convoy has been spotted. There's a helicopter flying overhead, it went past us a few mi

nutes ago towards the other Philippine coast guard boat then turned around. This is a Chinese Navy helicopter. It's the first sign we've seen so far that the Chinese are aware that we're here under the cover of darkness. We arrive at Sabina Shoal, the rendezvous point. We've just met up with the supply boats. There's one just behind me and another one over there and now we're making our way towards Second Thomas Shoal. In the dead of night, the Chinese Coast Guard starts to shadow our fleet by d

awn. We're surrounded. The Chinese vessels are on, they're getting really close to us. This is Chinese Coast Guard vessel 3305. The Chinese fleet begins to encircle our ship preventing us from getting close to the supply boat. Our boat is sort of turning away now because you can see how close the Chinese Coast Guard is getting to our a short distance away. The crew aboard the other Philippine Coast Guard vessels scramble as a Chinese ship collides into its bow. The Chinese fleet takes positions

around our convoy veering close to block the entrance to the reef fleets of fishing vessels controlled by the Chinese coast Guard move into place. This is China's Maritime Militia in action. We're now completely surrounded by Chinese vessels. Some of them are Chinese Coast Guard and some of them are Chinese flag fishing vessels that appear to be part of its maritime Militia. One of the Filipino supply boats has become separated from its protection as it tries to break through the Chinese fleet.

The small boat is surrounded and blasted with water cannons from two Chinese coast guard ships. The cannons smash into the bridge, shattering windows and injuring those inside, forcing the boat to turn back. Finally, the remaining supply boat manages to break through the Chinese line, sailing through the blocking ships to deliver its crucial supplies to the marines aboard Sierra Madre. Hours after the standoff began, China's coast guard would later say that its actions were to curtail what it ca

lled. The Philippine vessel's intrusion into the waters around the reef and that it allowed the supply vessel to pass as our convoy makes its way back to the island of Palawan. We are constantly shadowed by a Chinese vessel as encounters in the sea grow more aggressive. So too do the risks of these confrontations spilling over into something much more dangerous.