Philippines resupplies its Second Thomas Shoal outpost a month after China turned back the last mission

The Philippines delivered supplies on Wednesday 21 October to BRP Sierra Madre, the grounded navy ship that serves as its military outpost on Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea. Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro confirmed that the latest resupply mission had succeeded after the previous attempt was blocked, the Manila Bulletin reported.

China's coast guard also commented on the delivery. Reuters reported that the China Coast Guard said it had monitored the Philippines delivering necessities to the vessel on the shoal on Wednesday, and that it described the Philippine ship as illegally grounded there. China claims the shoal as its own territory, along with almost all of the South China Sea.

The Chinese coast guard went further in a statement by its spokesperson Jiang Lue on its website, according to Taiwan's Central News Agency. In that statement the coast guard claimed that the delivery took place with China's permission and that its officers had questioned the Philippine boats and supervised the whole operation. It also said it would keep up what it called law enforcement in the Spratly Islands, including the shoal, which China calls Ren'ai Jiao. These are Chinese claims and were not confirmed by Philippine authorities.

Reuters said the Philippine military and coast guard did not immediately respond to its request for comment on the Chinese account. Manila has rejected the idea that its missions need Beijing's approval. Speaking on 6 October, Teodoro said the Philippines had an absolute right to carry out lawful activity in its exclusive economic zone without interference from, or the consent of, any foreign power.

The successful run follows a failed attempt on 24 September. According to the Inquirer, the Armed Forces of the Philippines suspended that mission after Chinese navy and coast guard ships challenged the Philippine vessels about 111 kilometres from the shoal, much farther out than in earlier missions. The military later said it had monitored three People's Liberation Army Navy warships, two of them Houbei-class missile boats, and five China Coast Guard vessels during the operation. Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, the military spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, had said earlier missions usually got within about 15 to 19 kilometres before meeting interference.

The Philippine Coast Guard accused China of obstructing that September mission. The Central News Agency said no one was hurt but that dangerous manoeuvres by the Chinese ships stopped the Philippine side from completing the delivery. Reuters reported that China, for its part, said the Philippines had ignored its warnings, which it said led to on-site monitoring and verbal warnings.

After that setback Teodoro said the rotation and resupply missions would continue whatever happened. He declined to discuss plans for the next mission, saying operational control lay with the military's Western Command in Palawan, and said the morale of the troops aboard the ship remained high.

Sierra Madre is a Second World War-era landing ship that the Philippines deliberately ran aground on the shoal in 1999 and has kept manned since as a symbol of its sovereignty claim. The shoal lies inside the Philippines' 370-kilometre exclusive economic zone. China has long demanded the ship's removal and has repeatedly obstructed supply runs to the troops stationed aboard.

Tension at sea has stayed high elsewhere. In September a China Coast Guard vessel rammed a Philippine boat on a refuelling mission near another shoal, according to the Philippine Coast Guard, while China blamed the Philippines for the collision. China's claims in the South China Sea overlap with those of Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.