China's coast guard said the Philippines on Friday (Jan 24) sent a civilian vessel to deliver provisions to its warship "illegally grounded" at Second Thomas Shoal, a disputed atoll in the South China Sea.

Tensions between Beijing and Manila have intensified in recent months concerning the South China Sea, a region spanning 3.5 million square kilometers (1.35 million square miles) through which an estimated $11.3 billion in global trade passes annually, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.