But on Saturday, nationalist tabloid Global Times accused the Philippines of “lying” about the incident, saying it had sent speedboats to take part in “illegal transportation and repair” operations for the BRP Sierra Madre, a World War II ship that had run aground on a coral reef.
The footage appears to show Philippine military and coast guard vessels being surrounded by two Chinese coast guard vessels, which are transporting supplies rather than personnel.
The footage also showed what appeared to be a Chinese vessel tailing the Philippine navy speedboat during a resupply mission. The Global Times said there were about 10 people on board, all of whom were “in good health.”
Another video posted by a news blog affiliated with state broadcaster CCTV showed the Philippine ship transferring what appeared to be fuel tanks bearing the logo of U.S. company Valvoline, which the blog said could be used to prevent corrosion of the ship’s hull.
02:37
Philippine Navy admiral at the center of “New Deal” furor breaks silence on alleged South China Sea deal
Philippine Navy admiral at the center of “New Deal” furor breaks silence on alleged South China Sea deal
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said on Friday that the Philippines would be allowed to send food and other essential supplies to the reef and evacuate its military personnel with advance notice, but would not allow this to be used as an excuse to send construction materials to perpetuate the occupation.
In response to Mao’s remarks, Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriera said on Saturday that “the Philippine government is under no obligation to seek permission from any country that has engaged in unlawful and provocative deployments of forces within our exclusive economic zone,” within which the reef lies.
The Philippines has adopted a tougher stance over its long-running territorial dispute with China in the South China Sea since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took office two years ago.
The Philippines has stepped up resupply missions to the Sierra Madre islands, which it deliberately stranded in 1999 to strengthen Manila’s control over the reef, and Congress has allocated funds to build a permanent facility there.
China claimed the Philippines had promised not to send construction materials to repair the stranded ship under President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration, but Duterte later acknowledged there had been an “implicit” agreement. McClosz said he was unaware of any such agreement, called it “appalling” and said he would reject it.
China last month provided Philippine media with an audio recording of a January phone call with a senior Philippine navy official in which the official agreed to a “new model” that would require the Philippines to notify China in advance of resupply missions. The official later denied making any concessions to Beijing.
China and the Philippines have been locked in an escalating dispute over territorial claims in the South China Sea over the past year, which has seen clashes and China spraying water at Philippine ships.
Earlier this week, Beijing accused Manila of cutting fishing nets it had set around Second Thomas Reef.
