About 250 Filipinos live on Thitu Island, the largest and most inhabited island of the Spratlys, in the South China Sea. But Chinese ships are never far away.

President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a high-stakes face-to-face meeting in Bali, Indonesia.

The move appears to be a show of strength meant to signal the new administration's determination to stand firm against China's steady encroachment in the strategic waterway.