Military: Philippines delivers supplies to troops at disputed South China Sea shoal

The Philippines successfully delivered supplies to troops stationed at Second Thomas Shoal, the military announced Friday, marking the second unhindered mission to the disputed reef since Manila and Beijing agreed in July to ease tensions over such operations. 

However, some tense standoffs have occurred lately between the rival territorial claimants at another shoal nearby in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea).

Eight Chinese vessels were spotted near Second Thomas Shoal during Thursday’s rotation and resupply mission, but they did not hinder the movements of Philippine ships and boats, according to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

“The AFP was able to deliver essential supplies to our troops in the area and completed the mission,” spokeswoman Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said in a statement. 

The shoal – known in the Philippines as Ayungin Shoal and in China as Ren’ai Jiao – lies within Manila’s 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone.

Manila’s military officials said China also did not interfere with the Philippines’ last resupply mission to the shoal on July 27. It occurred a week after the two countries had reached a “provisional arrangement” on the conduct of such missions.

Philippine authorities had accused Chinese vessels of harassing previous military resupply missions. On June 17, a Filipino serviceman was wounded in a violent encounter with Chinese coast guard personnel during a standoff near the BRP Sierra Madre, a rusting World War II-era navy ship that Manila deliberately grounded to mark its territorial claim and serve as a military outpost at Second Thomas Shoal.

Military public affairs chief Col. Xerxes Trinidad confirmed on Friday that a civilian supply boat had delivered “essential supplies and provisions” to troops stationed aboard the Sierra Madre. The shoal lies about 104 nautical miles from the Philippine province of Palawan. 

“The AFP will continue to perform its mandates in the [South China] Sea, and provide full support and care for our stationed troops,” Trinidad said. 

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Liu Dejun, a spokesman for the China Coast Guard, said they monitored the whole mission, noting that this was in keeping with an earlier “temporary agreement” to facilitate the delivery of critical supplies to the Sierra Madre.

“The Philippines sent a civilian vessel to deliver life supplies to its illegal ‘sitting beach’ warship off Ren’ai Reef, and the Chinese Coast guard questioned and confirmed the Philippine vessel and supervised the whole process,” Liu said from Beijing.

However, he said that China would continue to carry out “law enforcement activities” in the disputed waters of the South China Sea.

On July 21, the Philippine foreign office announced that Manila and Beijing had come to a provisional arrangement on resupply and rotational missions to the Sierra Madre, but the details of the agreement have not been made public.

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) did not immediately respond to queries from reporters Friday.

On Thursday, the National Security Council said Manila had reestablished a presence in Sabina Shoal, nearly two weeks after pulling its lone coast guard ship out of the area. 

The reef serves as a rendezvous point for resupply missions to the nearby Ayungin Shoal.

In August, Manila accused a Beijing ship of ramming its vessel in Sabina Shoal several times, the fifth case of alleged harassment by China of Philippine ships operating near the reef that month. Chinese officials said the Philippine ship had acted dangerously and rammed into a Chinese vessel.