By Thai Newsroom Reporters
PHILIPPINE MARINES stationed on a coral reef in the South China Sea were literally given an airdrop of supplies over the weekend as logistic missions by sea had been considered highly precarious due to a maritime blockade laid around by Chinese naval ships, according to an informed source.
A Philippine navy aircraft airdropped the supplies in the sea off Second Thomas Shoal for the Marines to retrieve for use whilst Chinese naval ships were laying the blockade around the reef where a nearly-a-century-old Philippine warship BRP Sierra Madre had been purposely run aground.
The successful airdrop mission was merely considered by the Philippines as a temporary measure in the face of sustained tension and maritime standoffs between the Philippine and Chinese naval forces, the informed source said.
Under normal circumstances all supplies for the Philippine Marines on Second Thomas Shoal were delivered by boat since the area was invariably viewed as part of the island republic’s exclusive economic zone.
Now that the Chinese naval ships have sailed in provocative fashion around in the disputed South China Sea, only airdrops were considered a safe and sound option.
The token presence of the dilapidated warship was primarily meant for the Philippines to concretely lay claim of territorial integrity over the Marines-occupied reef.
Earlier this month, the ubiquitous Chinese Coast Guard had literally forced Philippine fishermen to return giant clams and sea shells which they had caught off Scarborough Shoal and expelled them from the area.
Though no violence was reported to the appalled fishermen, such a forceful act on the part of the Chinese navy was tantamount to a condemnable maritime provocation, a Philippine government spokesperson was quoted as saying.
China has unilaterally, sweepingly claimed territorial integrity over most reefs and atolls in the Spratly Islands despite 2016’s international tribunal’s ruling which ultimately denied it all.
Other countries which have laid overlapping claims include Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines.
The Chinese naval forces have deployed military personnel and built military installations on many of those reefs and atolls including Scarborough Shoal and Fiery Cross whilst carrying out dredging and landfill work on the surfaces of the submerged reefs, causing potential perils to aquatic lives and adverse ecological effects in the resources-rich sea.
CAPTIONS:
Top: The Sierra Madre has been stuck fast on the South China Sea’s Second Thomas Shoal for more than 20 years. Photo: AP/Aaron Favila and published by ABC News
Front Page: Nearly 80 years old, the Sierra Madre was deployed by the US in World War II and the Vietnam War before being acquired by the Philippines Navy. File photo/Reuters/ Ritchie A Tongo and published by ABC News
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