30-1-2024 (MANILA) The Philippines categorically denied China’s assertion of a “temporary special arrangement” with Manila for the delivery of supplies to Philippine troops stationed at a disputed South China Sea reef, dismissing it as a fabrication.
The Chinese coastguard claimed on Saturday that it had granted temporary permission to the Philippines to provide provisions to soldiers stationed at the BRP Sierra Madre, a vessel grounded since 1999 at the Second Thomas Shoal, situated 190 km off Palawan province, in order to assert Manila’s territorial claims.
“This is a fabrication by the Chinese coastguard. There is absolutely no truth to this,” stated National Security Council spokesperson Jonathan Malaya in an interview with state-run broadcaster PTV-4.
According to the Chinese coastguard, supplies were air-dropped to the navy vessel on Jan 21. While Malaya neither confirmed nor denied the airdrop, he stressed that the provision of supplies to troops was within the Philippines’ rights.
“We do not require permission from anyone, including the Chinese coastguard, to deliver supplies through any means, whether by sea or air,” Malaya asserted.
The Philippines’ occupation of the shoal has unsettled Beijing and has been a focal point in recent disputes between the two nations, particularly under the leadership of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, who has pursued closer ties with the US military.
China asserts sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, a crucial conduit for over US$3 trillion (S$4 trillion) in annual maritime trade. Its territorial claims intersect with the exclusive economic zones of the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei, all of which have competing claims to various islands and reefs.
In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled that China’s claims lacked legal validity, a decision that Beijing has adamantly rejected.
