Philippines Rejects China Approval for South China Sea Resupply

MANILA_The Philippines said on Thursday that its provisional arrangement with China governing resupply operations at the Second Thomas Shoal does not require Manila to seek Beijing’s permission for missions, as the two countries traded accusations following another confrontation in the disputed South China Sea.

In a statement, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said the understanding between the two sides neither recognizes foreign jurisdiction nor affects Manila’s sovereign claims. It added that the arrangement does not permit the boarding or inspection of Philippine vessels and that rotation and resupply missions continue to be carried out as a matter of routine.

The clarification came after Philippine authorities accused the China Coast Guard of using water cannon and dangerous maneuvers to obstruct vessels delivering fuel and supplies to Filipino fishermen near Scarborough Shoal earlier on Thursday.

According to the Philippine Coast Guard, one Chinese Coast Guard vessel approached within about 50 meters of the BRP Datu Dumangsil before directing water cannon at the ship for approximately two minutes. Around 30 minutes later, another Chinese vessel crossed roughly 500 meters ahead of the BRP Datu Paiburong in what Manila described as a dangerous maneuver.

A Philippine Coast Guard official told AFP that neither vessel sustained damage and both successfully completed their mission to deliver fuel to Filipino fishermen operating in the area.

China rejected the Philippine account. China Coast Guard spokesman Jiang Lue said the Philippine vessels had entered what Beijing considers the jurisdictional waters of Huangyan Island, the Chinese name for Scarborough Shoal, despite repeated warnings.

Jiang said Chinese authorities took what he described as necessary law enforcement measures, including tracking, monitoring, blocking and controlling the Philippine vessels before expelling them from the area.

The confrontation occurred just hours before Manila hosted a regional security forum attended by senior diplomats from both China and the United States, where maritime security was expected to feature prominently on the agenda.

It marked the second maritime incident involving the two countries within four days after several months of relative calm in the contested waterway. Earlier this week, the Philippine military accused China Coast Guard personnel of striking a Filipino sailor with a baton during a confrontation near the disputed Second Thomas Shoal.

China disputed that account and said the Philippines had provoked the incident near a grounded Philippine military vessel that has long served as an outpost.

The latest exchanges prompted both governments to summon each other’s ambassadors on Tuesday, while several of the Philippines’ allies condemned Beijing’s actions following the earlier confrontation.

Scarborough Shoal, located about 240 kilometers west of the Philippine island of Luzon, is a rich fishing ground that has long been a source of tension between the two countries. China claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, including the shoal, despite a 2016 international arbitral ruling that found Beijing’s expansive maritime claims had no legal basis under international law.

The South China Sea remains one of Asia’s most strategically sensitive waterways, with overlapping territorial claims involving China and several Southeast Asian nations. Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have continued negotiations with Beijing on a long-delayed code of conduct aimed at reducing tensions and preventing incidents at sea.