Philippines says Chinese coast guard seizes food dropped by plane for Philippine forces

Manila, Philippines — The Philippine military chief said Tuesday that the Chinese coast guard seized one of four food packages dropped by a plane for Philippine navy personnel at a territorial outpost surrounded by Chinese ships in the disputed waters of the South China Sea.

Gen. Romeo Brawner said Chinese personnel may have suspected the packages contained construction materials intended to reinforce a rusting Philippine Navy ship stranded at Second Thomas Shoal to serve as a Philippine outpost. After discovering the package contained food, they threw the items, including rice and biscuits, into the sea, Brawner said.

Chinese officials did not immediately comment on Brawner’s statement, but they have repeatedly said the shoal, where the Philippine military deliberately beached the navy ship in 1999, belonged to China and demanded that the ship be towed. Philippine forces’ resupply operations on the stranded ship led to skirmishes and collisions with Chinese coast guard vessels that damaged Philippine supply boats and injured several Philippine navy personnel.

The May 19 airdrops on Second Thomas Shoal by the Philippine military sparked a race between the Chinese coast guard and Philippine navy personnel in small motorboats to retrieve the four packages. The Filipinos managed to recover three of the floating packages and the Chinese seized one, Brawner told reporters at a news conference.

After Chinese personnel dumped the food items, Filipino sailors managed to salvage some from the sea, but the rice was soaked and could no longer be eaten, he said.

“This action of confiscating our supplies is illegal,” Brawner said. “They are not allowed to take our provisions, which are in fact food products and certain medicines. »

Videos and photos released by the Philippine military showed at least four motorboats maneuvering dangerously close to each other as the occupants struggled to recover objects floating at sea, including what appeared to be a white plate and containers of food. The men in the video could be heard shouting at each other.

The Philippines says the shoal, which lies less than 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from its coast, is part of its internationally recognized exclusive economic zone and often cites a 2016 international arbitration ruling that invalidated the China’s extensive claims in the South China Sea based on historical data. land.

Territorial disputes have strained relations and raised fears that the conflict could draw China and the United States, long-time allies of the Philippines, into a military confrontation. Washington asserts no territorial claim to the busy shipping lane, a key global trade route, but has warned that it is obligated to defend the Philippines if Philippine forces, ships and aircraft are targeted by armed attack in the Sea. Southern China.

Besides China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan are also embroiled in long-running territorial disputes, seen as a flashpoint in Asia and a delicate fault line in the long-standing rivalry between the United States. United and China in the region.