The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) announced that it successfully delivered much-needed supplies to and replace worn-out crew members of BRP Sierra Madre (LS 57) in Ayungin Shoal despite the constant shadowing of Chinese vessels.
“[The] AFP was able to deliver supplies and rotate our personnel without interference,” AFP spokesperson Colonel Margareth Padilla told reporters on Friday.
She said the rotation and reprovisioning (RoRe) operation was carried out with the assistance of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Thursday.
However, the Chinese government insisted that not only did it not interfere with the Philippine resupply mission to the grounded ship’s crew but it actually “supervised” the operation.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) said the resupply operation was done “in accordance with the provisional agreement” between Manila and Beijing.
Filipino personnel “delivered daily necessities to the illegally grounded warship on Ren’ai Reef,” CCG spokesperson Liu Dejun said, using the Chinese name for the shoal.
He said the CCG “questioned and confirmed the [identity of the] Philippine vessel [that delivered the supplies] and supervised the whole process.”
The events as described by the CCG were at least partially confirmed by the Philippine military spokesperson, who admitted that up to eight different Chinese vessels were spotted in the vicinity as the mission was being executed.
“The presence [of the Chinese ships] posed no threat to our mission and our personnel were able to complete the mission and sustain our presence in the shoal,” Padilla, however, noted.
She assured that Philippine forces remain “vigilant and prepared to respond to any challenges in protecting our personnel and operations.’
The mission took place amid the presence of some 251 Chinese ships in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
On June 17, Chinese personnel attacked Filipino sailors as they were attempting to carry out the same mission, preventing the delivery of much-needed provisions to the crew of the marooned Philippine Navy (PN) ship.
The thug-like assault on the high seas that went viral on the internet and drew international condemnation led to the serious injury of a PN personnel.
Ayungin Shoal is located some 140 kilometers from the Philippines’ western island of Palawan and 1,200 kilometers from China’s nearest major landmass, Hainan Island.
