5-10-2023 (BEIJING) China has expressed strong disapproval of a recent mission carried out by four Philippine ships to resupply Philippine troops stationed on a disputed South China Sea atoll. China claims that the vessels entered its waters in the Spratly Islands without permission.
The Philippines announced on October 4 that it had successfully delivered supplies to its troops stationed on a World War II-era transport ship, which has been transformed into a military outpost on the atoll. Despite attempts by China’s coast guard to block the resupply mission, the Philippines managed to carry it out.
China’s extensive claims in the South China Sea have resulted in disputes with several neighboring countries. However, its relationship with the Philippines has been particularly strained, especially since Ferdinand Marcos Jr assumed the presidency last year.
Gan Yu, the spokesperson for China Coast Guard, stated on the organization’s website, “Philippine supply ships and two coast guard ships entered the waters…in China’s Nansha Islands without permission from the Chinese government.” The Spratly Islands are referred to as Nansha Islands by China.
The atoll in question is called Ayungin in the Philippines, while China refers to it as the Renai Reef. Also known as the Second Thomas Shoal, it is located 109km off the Philippine island of Palawan.
A small number of Philippine troops reside on the old navy transport ship, the BRP Sierra Madre, which was intentionally grounded on the shoal in 1999 to reinforce the Philippines’ territorial claim. China Coast Guard’s post emphasized that stern warnings were issued and firmly expressed opposition to the illegal transport of materials by the Philippines to the ship, which it claims is “illegally sitting on the beach.”
The Philippines last completed a resupply mission to the grounded ship on September 8. A month earlier, a Chinese Coast Guard vessel used a water cannon against a Philippine supply boat during a similar attempt, which drew condemnation from the Philippines and its long-standing ally, the United States.
China has demanded that the Philippines tow the vessel away, but Manila has rejected this demand. The Philippine National Security Council (NSC) stated that its resupply and rotation mission was successfully carried out despite significant attempts by Chinese Coast Guard and Chinese maritime militia to “harass and interfere” with the operation.
The NSC asserted, “These missions are a legitimate exercise of the administrative functions of the Philippine government.”
China claims sovereignty over nearly the entire South China Sea, citing a line on its maps that encroaches upon the exclusive economic zones of Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia. However, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled in 2016 that the line on China’s maps lacks a legal basis.
