The China Coast Guard (CCG) said that it monitored a Philippine delivery of “living necessities” to troops stationed at Second Thomas ​Shoal yesterday, a month after the Philippines accused the CCG of obstructing a similar mission.

Manila undertakes periodic missions to resupply the small unit of marines stationed aboard the BRP Sierra Madre, a grounded World War II-era warship that functions as the Philippines’ foothold at the contested shoal.

In a statement yesterday that was paraphrased by Xinhua, CCG spokesperson Jiang Lue said that it had “inquired and verified the Philippine vessel conducting the delivery, and monitored the entire process.” He added that the CCG “will continue to conduct law-enforcement and rights-protection operations” in the Spratly Islands and at Second Thomas Shoal, which Beijing refers to as Ren’ai Jiao.

China claims the majority of the South China Sea, including the entire Spratly archipelago, where the Philippines currently occupies nine features. In recent years, these have become the subject of a Chinese pressure campaign that has led to confrontations between the two sides, some involving the use of ramming tactics and high-pressure water cannons by the CCG.

Second Thomas Shoal has been a particular focus of Beijing’s efforts. Yesterday’s resupply mission, which has not been confirmed by Manila, came just under a month after the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) accused the CCG of obstructing a resupply ​mission to the BRP Sierra Madre. The vessel was grounded on the shoal in 1999 in order to strengthen the Philippines’ claim over it, an act that China considers illegal.

According to PCG spokesperson Jay Tarriela, the mission on September 25 was “temporarily suspended after a CCG vessel carried out dangerous maneuvers” against the Philippine resupply vessel M/V Lapu-Lapu. The maneuvers “put Filipino personnel at risk” and prevented the mission from being completed, he said. In July, a Philippine marine was injured in a melee with Chinese sailors after a CCG boat carrying eight personnel approached within close range of the BRP Sierra Madre.

These incidents broke a period of relative calm at Second Thomas Shoal, following a string of increasingly dangerous confrontations between the two sides in 2023 and 2024. After a physical clash between the two sides in July 2024 that left eight Philippine naval personnel injured, including one who lost a thumb, Beijing and Manila agreed to de-escalate the situation at Second Thomas Shoal, reaching a “provisional understanding” that allowed the Philippines to resupply the Sierra Madre without hindrance.

While the agreement appeared for a time to have calmed the situation at Second Thomas Shoal and prevented it from spiraling into a broader conflict, the two sides have disputed the details of the arrangement.

China argues that the resupply operations must be reported in advance and subjected to its inspection. In its statement yesterday, for instance, the CCG stated that the Philippines had completed its resupply missions with China’s “approval,” in line with the earlier “provisional arrangement.” The Philippines does not acknowledge any obligation to comply with such conditions or inform China of resupply missions.

The recent incidents suggest that the tacit understanding to avoid further clashes at Second Thomas Shoal has now collapsed, and the feature has once again moved to the frontline of the maritime disputes between China and the Philippines.