After China foiled a previous effort with water cannons, the Philippine armed forces announced on Saturday that they would try again to resupply troops stationed in a decrepit World War 2-era ship on a shoal in the South China Sea.
“This exercise of our sovereign rights and jurisdiction is a testament to our firm belief in the rules-based international order that underpins regional peace and stability,” Philippine armed forces spokesperson Medel Aguilar said in a statement.
This month, the Philippines lodged a diplomatic protest against China after the Chinese coast guard deployed water cannons and other “dangerous” tactics to block the Philippine military from supplying a small number of troops in the Second Thomas Shoal.
Internationally disputed Chinese claims to practically the entirety of the South China Sea are opposed by Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Taiwan, and the Philippines, who each have a variety of territorial claims.
Aguilar stated that the Philippines favours the peaceful resolution of conflicts and urges all pertinent parties to respect its sovereignty and jurisdiction over its maritime zones.
An inquiry for comment was not immediately answered by the Chinese embassy in Manila. On August 7, the Chinese coast guard claimed to have informed the Philippines not to send ships to the shoal and not to provide the battleship with “construction materials used for large-scale repair and reinforcement.”
In order to support its claim of control over the shoal, which is located within its 200-mile exclusive economic zone, the Philippines purposefully grounded the warship in 1999.
According to the armed services, the upcoming resupply operation “is a clear demonstration of our resolve to stand up against threats and coercion, and our commitment to upholding the rule of law.”
China’s expansive claim to practically the entire South China Sea was ruled unconstitutional in 2016 by a decision of an international arbitration tribunal.
While rejecting the judgement, China has created artificial islands with airstrips and surface-to-air weapons in the South China Sea.
