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From Our Own Correspondent: A standoff in the South China Sea

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A Chinese vessel confronts members of a Philippines sea convoy

04/05/2024 GMT

A standoff in the South China Sea

BBC World Service - From Our Own Correspondent, A standoff in the South China Sea

The Philippines' coast guard confronts China; tales from Israel, Argentina and Antarctica

The Philippines' coast guard confronts Chinese vessels; the Israelis now seeking asylum in Portugal; glaciers melt and coins vanish in Argentina; and a voyage to Antarctica.

Pascale Harter introduces dispatches from the South China Sea, Portugal, Argentina's far south and Antarctica.

Territorial claims in the South China Sea are hotly disputed - with China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Taiwan and Brunei all asserting their rights there. But the tensions are sharpest between the governments in Manila and Beijing, and over the past year President Bongbong Marcos has urged the Philippines' coast guard to challenge Chinese vessels more directly. Jonathan Head went out with a convoy of boats from the Philippines to waters around the Scarborough Shoal.

For generations, Jewish families from around the world have migrated to Israel. But the current war in Gaza and fears over long-term security there mean some Israeli citizens are looking abroad for a quieter life. Mark Lowen reports on a new influx of Israelis seeking asylum in Portugal.

As Argentina's President Milei pushes his agenda of economic reform, people in the city of Ushuaia are still struggling to keep up with rising prices. But there's also a longer-term challenge looming in the background - as the glaciers which supply it with water melt away. Mimi Swaby describes life in Argentina's far south. 

And Janie Hampton takes a sea voyage to Antarctica with a boatload of distant relatives. Once on shore - after a stringent round of biosecurity measures - they found not just seals and penguins, but also an English pub and a Ukrainian research station. 

Producer: Polly Hope
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith
Production Co-Ordinator: Katie Morrison

Image: A Chinese vessel confronts members of a Philippines sea convoy near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, April 2024.© BBC, taken by VERMA SIMONETTE

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