Mischief Reef standoff (Liberty Nests in the Orient)

The Mischief Reef standoff was a military confrontation between the Philippines, backed by the United States, and the People's Republic of China over the disputed Mischief Reef (美济礁; pinyin: Meiji Jiao; literally: "Meiji Reef"; Tagalog: Panganiban reef; Vietnamese: Đá Vành Khăn) in the South China Sea. The standoff lasted for five days on February 15-20, 1995 before the Chinese backed off in the face of American naval superiority, which escorted the Philippine Navy warships. The incident soured China-Philippines diplomatic relations and strengthened the U.S.-RP alliance. It also signified continuing American dominance in the Asia-Pacific region.

Background
The South China Sea has been a disputed area since the beginning of the 20th Century. The islands, reefs, shoals, and atolls, have been claimed by various nations including France when it ruled over Indochina, the Republic of China government in Taiwan, and the Philippines during the 1950s-1960s. In May 1956, a Filipino lawyer named Tomas Cloma seized the island and attempted to establish a country called the Free Territory of Freedomland. This caused a stir within the government of the Philippines and the Republic of China, as Cloma stole an ROC flag on one of the islands and threatened to attack ROC positions. Cloma himself stood down on the request of the government and jailed by Philippine President Ferdinand E. Marcos in 1972 for four months for "impersonating a military officer by being called an ‘admiral’".

In January 1974, the China attacked South Vietnamese positions in the Paracel Islands and seized the island chain. Years later, in March 1988, China and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam would clash over Johnson South Reef, resulting in the death of 64 Vietnamese sailors and China seizing the reef.

In 1994, Chinese ships have began venturing into the South China Sea, surveying the area for natural resources and placing a claim on the islands. The Chinese began building structures on Mischief Reef as early as 1994. These were spotted by Philippine Air Force and Navy recon planes, which relayed this information to the AFP. Diplomatic protests were filed by the Fidel Ramos administration against Beijing, which replied that Mischief reef had been part of Chinese territory since ancient times. Plans within the AFP were then drawn on how to put the claim on Mischief Reef.