This content was originally published by Radio Free Asia, and it is now licensed for reprint.
A year after reaching a deal with China over the reef at the heart of quickly rising conflicts between the neighbors, the Philippines announced that it had safely resupplied soldiers stationed at a contested island in the South China Sea.
However, the Philippines and China have provided conflicting accounts of both what took place over the weekend at the Second Thomas Shoal, also known as the Ayungin Shoal in the Philippines, and what was agreed upon in their agreement.
The Spanish foreign government announced in a statement that there were no “unfortunate incidents” when it conducted a movement and reprovisioning objective to the BRP Sierra Madre, an old Spanish warship intentionally grounded on the Next Thomas Shoal on Saturday.
According to the report, it was the first objective to be conducted under a mutual agreement that the two nations had reached a year prior.
The Philippine government announced on July 21 that the two parties had reached a proviso agreement regarding the supply of daily demands and rotational operations for soldiers on the BRP Sierra Madre, but details of the contract have not been made public.
China, a U.S. ally, has accused China of preventing missions to provide the Spanish troops it, causing obscene clashes between Philippine ships and Chinese coast guard ships.
A Filipino soldier was seriously hurt on June 17 when they clashed violently with Taiwanese coast guard employees.
‘ Uncomfortable peace ‘
Responding to the declaration from the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs, or DFA, a Taiwanese international agency’s spokesperson , said , that China just allowed the Spanish vision on the trip after having been “informed of the supplies before it was carried out”.
The Foreign side “let the Philippine ship through” after verifying on the spot that the Philippine ship merely had provisions for humanitarian living, the spokesperson said. The Chinese coast guard also kept an eye on the proceeding.
But the Philippines disputed China’s accounts. The Philippine National Security Council, or NSC, said in , a statement , on Sunday that” the Philippines did not and will never get agreement” from China to carry supplies expeditions to the reef.  ,
The Chinese coast guard did not board or inspect ships, as the Chinese government claimed in a statement, it added.
According to the NSC, “various Chinese maritime forces were observed in the vicinity,” but the Chinese vessels kept their distance and did not interfere with it.
In a second statement, the Philippine DFA criticized the Chinese ministry for presenting the facts incorrectly in accordance with what had been agreed between China and the Philippines. It also reaffirmed that the deal reached should not affect the country’s positions on the situation.
The Second Thomas Shoal is located entirely within the Philippines ‘ exclusive economic zone as well as the so-called “neutral-dash line” that China maps to claim historic rights over the majority of the South China Sea.
China had previously stated that it was still holding a” three-point principled position” regarding the Second Thomas Shoal’s management.  ,
The Philippines must notify China in advance and after on-site verification is conducted, and the Philippines is not permitted to send large amounts of construction material to strengthen the outpost or make it permanent. China also has sovereignty over the shoal and continues to demand that the Philippines remove the BRP Sierra Madre.  ,
Both parties were able to interpret their recent agreement as they wanted because details of it had not been made public, according to Ray Powell, a professor of maritime ecology at Stanford University.
For the time being, “each side is able to claim that the other accepted its preferred language and continued the current uneasy truce,” Powell said.
During a meeting between the U. S. State Secretary Antony Blinken and the Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi in Laos on Saturday, Blinken raised concern about China’s “destabilizing actions in the South China Sea, including at Second Thomas Shoal”, the U. S.  , State Department , said.
Blinken also affirmed U.S. support for peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law, including overflight and freedom of navigation.
For his part, Wang “urged the United States not to stir up trouble and undermine maritime stability” at the shoal, reported the , Xinhua , news agency.
