Manila, Beijing at odds over sea dealSECOND THOMAS SHOAL: The Philippines objected to China’s claim that it has agreed to provide prior notice and allow full monitoring of its resupply missionsBloombergThe Philippines and China are already at odds over the details of a “provisional arrangement” that is to govern resupply missions to Manila’s military outpost in the South China Sea, just hours after announcing the agreement. Chinese coastguard vessels fire water cannons towards a Philippine resupply vessel Unaizah May 4 on its way to a resupply mission at Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea, March 5, 2024. Vessels from the two countries have engaged in testy confrontations when the Philippines send supply missions to the Sierra Madre. Beijing stressed that it has sovereignty over the shoal, and reiterated that the Philippines should remove the Sierra Madre. Manila, for its part, said it would continue to assert its rights and jurisdiction in its maritime zones, including the Second Thomas Shoal.
