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Filmmaker Baby Ruth Villarama and her team board a variety of boats and ships to record the continuing conflict and its effects between the Philippines and China over control of the recently named West Philippine Sea. These waters, viewed by nearly everyone apart from China as within the Philippines' EEZ, has seen increasing infiltration by boats from China. Among them are fishing boats, the majority consist of Chinese coast guard ships that have engaged in harassing, collided with, and tried to seize Filipino boats amid the ongoing standoff.

Some footage are incredibly gripping, though often the conflict takes the form of a tense game of seaborne intimidation. Personnel on opposing vessels broadcast lengthy speeches over short-wave, laden with technical legalese, engaging in a kind of long-distance negotiation.

The Mission Behind the Title

The documentary's name references the critical efforts by the Filipino military to resupply foodstuffs to remote islands in the West Philippine Sea where troops maintain a presence for extended, lonely tours. These outposts are often little more than patches of sand in the shallows, no larger than a football pitch, accessible only by fast-moving motorized rafts.

The voyages are undoubtedly scary for the cargo of baby goats, which are crammed in with tinned food and additional provisions. The film shows the animals scrambling for better balance as the boats hurtle across the open water.

Impact on Livelihoods

The film also follows local fishermen around the inhabited Scarborough Shoal, who express concern over reduced harvests caused by the sheer number of foreign fishing vessels in their ancestral fishing areas.

A Compelling Subject, Imperfect Execution

Critically speaking, the documentary is slightly weakened by a slightly disjointed narrative approach and a musical score that can feel somewhat melodramatic, overplaying the tense scenes. Nevertheless, it remains a important look of a critical subject that is rarely covered in Western media.