Manila Says Shoal Resupply Missions to Remain Philippine Operation

File image of Chinese coast guard ships corralling a Philippine civilian boat chartered by the Philippine navy to deliver supplies to the Philippine navy ship BRP Sierra Madre, in disputed waters of the South China Sea. Ted ALJIBE / AFP

Manila’s resupply missions to troops on a disputed South China Sea atoll will remain purely Philippine operations, the National Security Council said Sunday, after Washington vowed to “do what is necessary” to support them.

The Second Thomas Shoal, which hosts a tiny Philippine garrison stationed on a deliberately beached old warship, has been a focus of escalating confrontations between Chinese and Philippine ships in recent months as Beijing steps up efforts to push its claims to the South China Sea.

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