BEIJING (Reuters) – The Philippines said it delivered provisions earlier this month to its military personnel stationed at features in the South China Sea that Manila occupies but are claimed by Beijing.
China’s coast guard said on Tuesday that the Philippines sent a civilian vessel to deliver the provisions to an “illegally grounded” warship at Second Thomas Shoal on Dec. 12 “with China’s permission”.
There was no immediate response from the Philippine embassy in Beijing to the coast guard statement.
The Philippine armed forces said the resupply mission from Dec. 3-14 delivered “essential life support and sustainment provisions” and included “Christmas packages” to boost morale for soldiers who will be away from their families during the festive season.
Although its statement did not name the features the mission visited to drop off supplies, photos shared by the Philippine military showed delivery to personnel stationed on the Sierra Madre warship in Second Thomas Shoal.
Last week, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said the country will not send its navy to support Filipino fishermen in another contested shoal in the South China Sea to avoid escalation.
On Dec. 4, Chinese coastguard vessels fired a water cannon and side-swiped a Manila fisheries bureau boat transporting supplies to Filipino fishermen in the Scarborough Shoal, according to Philippine officials.
China’s coast guard said Philippine ships “dangerously approached” Beijing’s territorial waters around the Scarborough Shoal.
Tensions between China and the Philippines have escalated throughout the year over the disputes in the South China Sea, which China claims nearly the entirety of.
Parts of the vital waterway, where more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce takes place, are also claimed by Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
Beijing rejects a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague that its sweeping claims were not supported by international law.
(Reporting by Liz Lee and Ethan Wang in Beijing, and Mikhail Flores in Manila; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Raju Gopalakrishnan)