Resupply mission to Ayungin troops completed without Chinese harassment

Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, site of the rusting Philippine military outpost, the BRP Sierra Madre. —Niño Jesus Orbeta/Inquirer file photo

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines carried out a resupply mission at Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) on Tuesday without any Chinese interference, the military said on Wednesday.

The March 4 rotation and resupply (Rore) mission to Filipino troops stationed at the BRP Sierra Madre at Ayungin was the second this year after the first mission on Jan. 24, which also went smoothly.

READ: AFP finishes 6th mission to resupply BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal

Other Rore missions held on July 27, Sept. 27, Nov. 15 and Dec. 12 last year were likewise done without any harassment from Chinese vessels.

“This Rore was executed in close coordination with the Philippine Coast Guard and was completed with no untoward incident,” Col. Xerxes Trinidad, chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines public affairs office, said in a statement.

While en route to Sierra Madre, the Filipino troops “tracked and monitored several Chinese vessels in the general area.”

“Despite the presence of these foreign vessels, the entire operation was completed without confrontation or untoward incident,” Trinidad said.

A photo and video shared by the AFP showed the MV Lapu-Lapu docked alongside BRP Sierra Madre during the Rore mission.

Past Rore missions have been harassed by Chinese vessels, with the most violent so far reported on June 17.

During that incident, China Coast Guard personnel wielded bolos, knives and spears and used tear gas, high-pitched sirens and high-powered strobe lights to disrupt the Philippine resupply mission. A Philippine Navy sailor was injured as a result.

Ayungin, which is about 200 kilometers from Palawan province, has been a flashpoint in the simmering dispute between Manila and Beijing in the South China Sea.

In January, both countries agreed to uphold the provisional understanding on Rore missions to Ayungin during a bilateral consultation mechanism in Xiamen in China.

“The completion of this mission reaffirms the AFP’s commitment not only to supporting our defenders in the WPS, but more importantly to upholding the Philippines’ sovereignty and sovereign rights—not only for today’s generation but for those to come,” Trinidad said.

In 2016, an international arbitral tribunal ruled that China’s claims, backed by its historical maps, have no basis under international law—a ruling Beijing does not recognize.