BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China’s coast guard has announced a “temporary special arrangement” allowing the Philippines to deliver supplies to the military for a World War II-era ship stranded on a disputed reef. ” was announced.
China’s coast guard has previously dispatched vessels to intercept a Philippine mission to replenish troops at a military outpost at Second Thomas Shoal, 190 kilometers (118 miles) off the coast of the Philippine island of Palawan. I’ve been doing it.
In a statement posted on its official WeChat account late Saturday, China’s coast guard said it had authorized the provision of necessary supplies, while resolutely defending China’s sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the Second Thomas Shoal and its adjacent waters.
“On January 21, a small Philippine aircraft airdropped supplies onto an illegally berthed warship,” the WeChat statement said.
“The Chinese Coast Guard has made temporary special arrangements in the Philippines to track and monitor the situation in real time, manage and respond in accordance with laws and regulations, and replenish necessary daily supplies,” it added.
China, which claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, points to a line on the map that cuts into the exclusive economic zones of Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia.
The country has repeatedly asked the Philippines to tow the ship under contract with Manila, but Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has denied the request.
A WeChat message on Saturday said Philippine “officials” are deliberately misleading international opinion and ignoring facts, which will not help ease tensions in the South China Sea.
(Reporting by Beijing-Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Barbara Lewis)