THE military will push through with its plans to resupply the Marines stationed at the Ayungin Shoal, despite warnings by China for the country to abandon the area.
A security official said it is the duty of the Armed Forces to sustain the soldiers deployed on the shoal, which is a part of the country’s territory, by providing them with food and water.
“It is but our duty to provide for own troops…these are Filipino settlements,” said the official, adding, “it is the right [thing to do], we reiterate that that is within our exclusive economic zone.”
The official said the military is strictly adhering to the Code of Conduct among claimants in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), and the resupply of the Filipino troops is not a violation of the code.
China, according to a Reuters report, had warned the Philippines that it will not tolerate the latter’s occupation of the shoal as it asked that it leave the area.
Earlier, Chinese Coast Guard vessels blocked a civilian vessel that was on its way to resupply the soldiers stationed on the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in the shoal.
The World War II-vintage BRP Sierra Madre, a landing ship tank (LST) was deliberately ran aground the shoal almost 10 years ago to make the country’s presence on the shoal permanent.
It has since been manned by Marines who were rotated every six months.
China said the civilian ship that was tapped by the Philippine Navy to deliver the provisions, was carrying construction materials, claims that were denied by another security official.
The incident prompted the government to lodge a diplomatic protest against China, and for the military to air drop water for the stationed troops.
The official said the civilian vessel, aside from carrying food and water, carries small things that would make the soldiers stay within the grounded vessel habitable.
He also said there is already a need to replace or rotate the troops at the grounded vessel because the last time they were rotated was in November last year.
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