Filipino forces on alert after China deploys coast guard ships close to disputed shoal

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — China has deployed a coast guard ship and other vessels close to long-grounded Philippine warship in a disputed South China Sea shoal where Filipino forces have been put on alert, the Philippine military said Thursday. At least 14 Chinese coast guard and suspected militia ships, some with high-caliber weapons and backed up by a helicopter and an unmanned drone, were being monitored around the BRP Sierra Madre in the Second Thomas shoal. The Chinese forces were spotted on Wednesday and were still in the vicinity on Thursday, Philippine military officials said. Two boatloads of Filipino forces…