22-8-2023 (MANILA) A resupply mission reached a remote outpost in the disputed South China Sea on Tuesday (August 22), according to the Philippines, despite Chinese vessels attempting to “block” the boats carrying provisions for Filipino marines.
China claims almost the entire waterway, which sees trillions of dollars in trade passing through annually, and has disregarded an international ruling that declared its assertion to have no legal basis.
Under the watchful eye of Philippine Navy ships, two coast guard vessels escorted two supply boats to Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands, where a small number of troops are stationed on a deteriorating warship.
This resupply comes just over two weeks after China Coast Guard ships blocked and used water cannons against a previous mission, preventing one of the boats from delivering its cargo.
“The routine follow-on Rotation and Resupply mission to the BRP Sierra Madre was successfully conducted today,” stated the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea.
The task force accused China Coast Guard and “Chinese Maritime Militia” vessels of attempting to “block, harass, and interfere” with the mission.
“Routine missions to Philippine outposts on various features in the West Philippine Sea will continue on a regular basis,” the task force affirmed.
China Coast Guard spokesperson Liu Dejun stated that the Philippine vessels “arbitrarily” entered the waters around Second Thomas Shoal “without the permission of the Chinese government”.
However, Liu mentioned that the coast guard decided to allow the boats to deliver supplies on humanitarian grounds “in view of the fact that the Philippine vessels did not carry illegal building materials for large-scale reinforcements”.
China deploys hundreds of vessels for patrols in the South China Sea and swarms reefs. Its coast guard and navy ships regularly block or shadow Philippine boats in the contested waters, as claimed by Manila.
CODE OF CONDUCT
The resupply of the outpost took place on the same day that China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which includes the Philippines, resumed talks in Manila on a code of conduct in the South China Sea during the 40th meeting of a joint working group.
“We are negotiating a Code of Conduct precisely because we would like to prevent incidents such as the last one at the Ayungin Shoal from happening,” said Philippine foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Teresita Daza, referring to Second Thomas Shoal by its Filipino name.
The Philippines, a longtime ally of the United States, has outposts on nine reefs and islands in the Spratlys, including Second Thomas Shoal.
In 1999, the Philippine Navy intentionally grounded the World War II-era BRP Sierra Madre on the shoal to counter China’s advancement in the waters.
The troops stationed on the rusty ship depend on regular deliveries for their survival.
Second Thomas Shoal is approximately 200km from the western Philippine island of Palawan and over 1,000km from China’s nearest major landmass, Hainan Island.
The use of water cannons on August 5 drew condemnation from the United States and other Western governments, further escalating tensions between Manila and Beijing, which have a long history of maritime disputes in the South China Sea.
Beijing has defended its actions in the August 5 incident as “professional” and accused Manila of “illegal delivery of construction materials” to the grounded ship.
The Philippines has insisted that Second Thomas Shoal falls within its exclusive economic zone, thus making its efforts to resupply troops and repair the BRP Sierra Madre legitimate.
Philippine military spokesman Colonel Medel Aguilar stated that Tuesday’s mission “demonstrated to the whole world the Filipinos’ firm resolve to assert our sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the shoal, which is within the country’s maritime zones.”
