An aerial view shows the BRP Sierra Madre on the contested Second Thomas Shoal, locally known as Ayungin, in the South China Sea. (Reuters)The Philippines will keep asserting its rights in the South China Sea after it reached a "provisional arrangement" with China about its resupply missions to the contested Second Thomas Shoal, the foreign ministry said on Monday. While neither the Chinese foreign ministry nor the Philippines' Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) provided details of the arrangement, Manila said it "will not prejudice our respective national positions". The Chinese foreign ministry confirmed the "temporary arrangement" with the two sides agreeing to jointly manage maritime differences and de-escalate the situation. China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, including the Second Thomas Shoal, where the Philippines maintains a rusty naval ship, the Sierra Madre, that it deliberately grounded in 1999 to reinforce its maritime claims.

Source: The Standard July 22, 2024 13:57 UTC