MANILA, July 21 — The Philippines and China have “reached an understanding on the provisional arrangement” for resupply missions to a beached naval ship in the South China Sea, Manila’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement today.
The Foreign Affairs Department (DFA) did not provide details on the deal for the Philippines’ resupply missions to the Sierra Madre in the Second Thomas Shoal.
But it said it followed “frank and constructive discussions” between the two sides at the Bilateral Consultation Mechanism earlier this month.
“Both sides continue to recognise the need to de-escalate the situation in the South China Sea and manage differences through dialogue and consultation and agree that the agreement will not prejudice each other’s positions in the South China Sea,” the DFA said.
The Chinese embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the weekend.
Manila deliberately beached the Philippine naval ship in 1999 to reinforce its claims over disputed waters around the shoal and it has since maintained a small contingent of sailors.
Philippine security officials also said today they will carry out resupply missions on their own despite an offer from the United States for help.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Friday the United States “will do what is necessary” to ensure its treaty ally can resupply the Sierra Madre on the Second Thomas Shoal.
Sullivan’s Filipino counterpart, Eduardo Ano, said the resupply will remain “a pure Philippine operation”.
“There is no need at this time for any direct involvement of United States forces in Rore (resupply) mission,” Ano said in a statement.
Reuters previously reported the Philippines turned down offers from the United States to assist its operations in the South China Sea.
Tensions in the disputed waterway have boiled over into violence in the past year, with a Filipino soldier losing a finger last month in a clash that Manila described as an “intentional-high speed ramming” by the China Coast Guard.
The Philippine military’s spokesman said in a separate statement today Manila “will exhaust all means before seeking foreign intervention” in its resupply missions.
Manila and Washington are bound by the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, a pact that can be invoked in case of an armed attack against Philippine forces, public vessels or aircraft in the South China Sea. United States officials including President Joe Biden have affirmed its “ironclad” commitment to aid the Philippines.
China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, overlapping maritime claims of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei. In 2016, a Hague-based tribunal said China’s claims had no legal basis, a decision Beijing has rejected.
— Reuters
