Second Thomas Shoal, where a small Philippine garrison is stationed on an old warship that was beached on purpose, has change into the main target of escalating confrontations between Chinese and Philippine vessels in recent months as Beijing steps up its claims to the South China Sea.
A Filipino sailor lost his thumb in the newest clash on June 17, when Chinese coast guard members armed with knives, sticks and an axe thwarted a Philippine navy try and deliver supplies to their troops.
“As for RORE [rotation and resupply mission] is worried, so we’re keeping this a purely Philippine operation, using Philippine vessels, personnel and command,” said National Security Council spokesman Deputy Director-General Jonathan Malaya.
“This may change depending on guidance from senior management, but for now that is the direction and policy.”
“We will continue to support and stand behind the Philippines as they take steps to make sure that happens,” Sullivan said on the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado.
Manila has a mutual defense treaty with the United States that commits either side to defend the opposite within the event of an “armed attack” on ships, aircraft, troops or coast guards anywhere within the Pacific theater of war, which Washington says includes the South China Sea.
Beijing claims almost your complete South China Sea, ignoring competing claims by several Southeast Asian nations, including the Philippines, and a global ruling that claims its position has no legal basis.
Filipino soldiers stationed on the sandbar live on the dilapidated BRP Sierra Madre base and require frequent deliveries of food, water and other essentials, in addition to transportation for personnel rotation.
China is sending coast guard and other boats to patrol the waters across the shoal and has turned several reefs into militarized artificial islands.
