According to the Philippine Foreign Ministry, Manila and Beijing have agreed to facilitate the resupply of Philippine troops at the disputed Second Thomas Reef in the Spratly Islands. The rusting wreck, which serves as an outpost for the Philippines, is a thorn in Beijing’s side as it seeks to assert control over the South China Sea, which is crucial to global trade.
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Are we heading towards a de-escalation between the Philippines and the China in the South China Sea conflict? Manila says the two countries have reached an interim arrangement that should ensure rotational missions and the delivery of food, water and other essentials to sailors stationed on the ship BRP Sierra Madre.
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No further details have been provided at this time, but the Philippine Foreign Ministry assures that both sides recognize the need to ” de-escalate the situation in the South China Sea and manage disputes through dialogue and consultation ” Asked by Agence France-Presse (AFP) for a reaction, the Chinese embassy in Manila did not immediately respond.
The announcement comes a month after a violent clash on June 17, when Chinese coast guards clashed with Filipino soldiers, brandishing knives, sticks and even an axe. One Filipino lost his thumb. Beijing wants to prevent Filipinos from resupplying the BRP Sierra Madrean old ship that Manila deliberately ran aground on the atoll in 1999.
An operation “ purely filipino »
The mission to resupply Manila’s troops on this disputed reef will remain an operation “ purely filipino ” said the Philippine National Security Council, which enjoys the support of Washington, on Sunday.
THE UNITED STATES had assured that they would do what was necessary to secure the resupply operations of Philippine troops on the disputed atoll. Manila has a mutual defense pact with Washington that obliges both sides to defend each other in the event of a ” armed attack ” against ships, aircraft, military personnel and coast guards anywhere in the Pacific theater, which Washington says includes the South China Sea.
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