Explainer | Why is a rusty old Philippine warship involved in the South China Sea dispute?
- The BRP Sierra Madre started life as a WWII-era tank-landing ship and saw action in Vietnam before the United States got rid of it
- It was deliberately grounded on Second Thomas Shoal by the Philippine military in the late 1990s in an effort to check China’s advance
So how did a rusting hulk named after a Philippine mountain range end up at the centre of the latest diplomatic row over the South China Sea?
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The 100-metre (328-foot) BRP Sierra Madre vessel began its life as the US tank-landing ship USS LST-821, which served in World War II.
It was later renamed the USS Harnett County and deployed during the Vietnam war, where it was used as a helicopter gunship base, according to the United States Naval Institute.
After the war, it was acquired by the Philippine Navy and later renamed the BRP Sierra Madre.
The Philippine military deliberately grounded the BRP Sierra Madre on Second Thomas Shoal in the late 1990s in an effort to check the advance of China in the hotly contested waters.