MANILA, Aug 22, 2023 (AFP) – The Philippines said a resupply mission had reached a remote outpost in the disputed South China Sea Tuesday, despite attempts by Chinese vessels to “block” the boats carrying provisions for Filipino marines.
Two Philippine Coast Guard boats escorted two supply vessels to Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands, where a handful of troops are stationed on a crumbling navy ship.
They arrived just over two weeks after China Coast Guard ships blocked and fired water cannon at a resupply mission to the tiny garrison that prevented 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,” the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea said in a statement.
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,” it insisted.
The Chinese embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Philippines has outposts on nine reefs and islands in the Spratlys, including Second Thomas Shoal.
The Philippine Navy deliberately grounded the World War II-era BRP Sierra Madre atop the shoal in 1999 to check China’s advance in the waters.
The troops stationed on the rusty ship depend on regular deliveries for their survival.
Second Thomas Shoal is about 200 kilometres (124 miles) from the western Philippine island of Palawan, and more than 1,000 kilometres from China’s nearest major landmass, Hainan island.
The water cannoning on August 5 fanned tensions between the countries, which have a long history of maritime disputes in the South China Sea.
China claims almost the entire waterway, through which trillions of dollars in trade passes annually, and has ignored an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.
It deploys hundreds of vessels to patrol the South China Sea and swarm reefs.
Its coast guard and navy ships routinely block or shadow Philippine boats in the contested waters, Manila has said.
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 is within its exclusive economic zone, and therefore its efforts to resupply troops and repair the BRP Sierra Madre are legitimate.
