A Philippine re-supply ship evaded a Chinese coastguard blockade in the South China Sea on Saturday to reach Filipino soldiers based on a remote reef claimed by both countries, the military said.
The dramatic, two-hour stand-off witnessed by the AFP was the latest in a rapid-fire series of escalations in a dispute between the two countries over their competing claims to waters and islands close to Philippine landmass.
Saturday’s incident took place at Second Thomas Shoal, where a small number of Filipino soldiers are stationed on a Navy vessel that was grounded there in 1999 to assert the Philippines’ sovereignty. The Philippine military said the ship, a fishing vessel with soldiers on board, completed its mission to deliver fresh supplies to the Navy ship and rotate the troops.
“They were able to pass through. The Chinese coastguard vessel and the mission is a success,” Cherryl Tindog, a spokeswoman for the military’s western command, told AFP. “We have successfully re-supplied and rotated the troops.” An AFP reporter and photographer recorded the two-hour confrontation above calm turquoise waters while on board a Philippine military plane that circled above the area throughout.
Four Chinese vessels had encircled Second Thomas Shoal as the Philippine vessel approached, according to the AFP reporter.