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The Philippines has reached an “interim arrangement” with China to resupply its military bases on a disputed reef in the South China Sea, one of the region’s most dangerous hotspots, the Manila government said on Sunday.
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement that diplomats from the two countries reached the agreement after weeks of talks over the Philippine resupply mission to the rusting warship Sierra Madre at Second Thomas Shoal. China had no immediate comment on the matter.
If confirmed and upheld, the agreement could help quell more than a year of violence in which the Chinese coast guard has blocked ships commissioned by the Philippine military to deliver supplies to the small number of marines stationed on the reef.
Beijing’s most violent action to date was in June when its coast guard rammed and boarded a Philippine vessel, confiscated its guns, drilled holes in the vessel with an axe, and threatened the Philippine crew.
The clash raised fears of an open confrontation between China and the United States, which has assured the Philippines that their mutual defense treaty applies to Second Thomas Shoal.
The reef lies within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and is for the Philippines’ exclusive use under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. China claims sovereignty over the reef, as well as over much of the South China Sea, but that claim was rejected in a 2016 arbitration award.
“Both sides continue to recognize the need to de-escalate the situation in the South China Sea and manage their differences through dialogue and consultation,” Manila’s foreign affairs department said, adding that the agreement “does not undermine each other’s positions in the South China Sea.”
Observers say it remains doubtful whether the agreement will succeed in de-escalating the conflict. “There is no sign that Beijing will back down from its determination to weaken Manila’s control over Second Thomas Shoal,” said a Manila-based diplomat.
Beijing had previously claimed it had reached a “gentlemen’s agreement” with Philippine authorities on the Sierra Madre mountain range, but has since accused Manila of violating that pact and continuing to violently disrupt Philippine supply operations, using water cannons and other obstructionist actions.
Philippine officials said the Chinese side had previously offered to allow the Philippine base to provide basic supplies such as food and water on the condition that it notify Beijing in advance, promise not to bring in materials to stabilize the rusted Sierra Madre mountain range and allow Beijing to inspect the supply ships.
The announcement of the interim arrangements follows talks held in Manila on July 2 under the two countries’ bilateral consultation mechanism on the South China Sea.
Additional reporting by Ananta Lakshmi in Jakarta
