A naval chief described purposefully wrecking a ship to mess with China

• A Philippines naval chief described an audacious anti-China mission from 1999.
• Vice Adm. Eduardo Santos intentionally grounded a ship to create an obstacle in the South China Sea.
• China claims the vast sea as its own territory, a claim fiercely disputed by its neighbors and the West.

Around 25 years ago, a Filipino naval chief ran his own ship aground.

But decades later, the officer disclosed that the move was a plot to disrupt China, not an accidental calamity.