No ‘untoward incident’ in latest resupply trip to Ayungin–AFP

FILE: AYUNGIN SHOAL---The Philippine Coast Guard conducts aerial surveillance at Sabina and Ayungin Shoals in West Philippine Sea on February 21, 2023. Chinese Coast Guard 5304 seen near the Philippine Navy's BRP Sierra Madre ran aground on a reef. —NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

The military and the coast guard were able to conduct a rotation and resupply mission (Rore) to the BRP Sierra Madre at Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal on Thursday without “untoward incidents” or interference from the Chinese, according to the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

The Nov. 14 mission was the third since Manila and Beijing came to an “understanding” on a provisional arrangement for such trips to Sierra Madre, a World War-II era ship deliberately grounded by the Philippines to serve as an outpost at Ayungin in 1999.

No videos, photos

Ayungin, which is about 200 kilometers from Palawan province, has been a flash point in the simmering dispute between Manila and Beijing in the heavily disputed South China Sea.

“There were no untoward incidents during the mission,” the AFP said in a brief statement on Friday, referring to the previous day’s operation. But unlike in previous updates, the military did not provide videos or photos of the mission.

“The AFP continues to uphold its mandate of safeguarding Philippine sovereignty and ensuring the welfare of its stationed personnel in the West Philippine Sea,” it added.

There were also no untoward incidents reported in the last two missions prior to Thursday’s, which were done on Sept. 26 and July 27.

China says it permitted trip

In Beijing, a Reuters report quoted China’s Coast Guard as saying that China gave permission for a civilian ship sent by the Philippines to take supplies to its “illegally” beached warship at the shoal.

“It is hoped the Philippines will honor its commitments, work with China in the same direction, and jointly manage the maritime situation,” the agency’s spokesperson, Liu Dejun, said in a statement on Thursday’s trip.

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China claims almost the entire South China Sea, despite overlapping claims by Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

In 2016 the arbitral tribunal in The Hague said China’s claims had no legal basis, a ruling Beijing rejects.

The uneventful missions to Ayungin were far from the violent clashes between Filipino and Chinese forces at the shoal during past resupply missions. —WITH A REPORT FROM REUTERS