AFP completes ‘hitch-free’ resupply mission at Ayungin Shoal; Chinese ships spotted

(UPDATED)

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) delivered food supplies and rotated its troops onboard the Philippine Navy (PN) ship BRP Sierra Madre (LS 57) at Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) on Tuesday, March 4, without any harassment from Chinese maritime forces.

Col. Xerxes Trinidad, chief of AFP public affairs office, said the rotation and resupply (RORE) mission was executed closely with the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and “completed with no untoward incident.”

“This milestone highlights the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ unwavering commitment to ensuring continuous logistical and operational support to our personnel, despite the challenging security environment in the West Philippine Sea,” he said.

In a video footage provided by the AFP, it showed civilian vessel M/V Lapu-Lapu docking alongside the World War II-era ship BRP Sierra Madre during the RORE mission.

The civilian vessel was carrying the troops that would replace the marines and sailors stationed onboard the PN ship, as well as food and other daily sustenance for them.

Trinidad said several Chinese vessels were tracked by supporting teams in the general area of Ayungin Shoal during the RORE mission but they did not interfere with the operation.

“Despite the presence of these foreign vessels, the entire operation was completed without confrontation or untoward incident,” he said.

This marked the sixth consecutive unimpeded RORE mission by the AFP at Ayungin Shoal, not fifth as earlier reported by the AFP, following similar operations on July 27, 2024; Sept. 27, 2024; Nov. 15, 2024; Dec. 12, 2024; and Jan 24, 2025.

In July last year, the Philippines and China agreed on a “provisional arrangement” to keep the resupply missions as peaceful as possible after a violent incident during the June 17, 2024 RORE. In the said mission, a Filipino sailor lost his thumb after the boat where he was on was rammed by a Chinese rigid hull inflatable boat. 

The BRP Sierra Madre was deliberately ran aground by the Navy on Ayungin Shoal in 1999 to assert the country’s sovereignty in the area.

Ayungin Shoal, a submerged reef in the Spratly Islands, is located 105 nautical miles west of Palawan, but China is claiming it as part of its territory based on their so-called 10-dash line, a set of imaginary lines intended to press China’s claim of sovereignty in the majority of the South China Sea.

A 2016 arbitral ruling has already invalidated China’s dash-line claims in the South China Sea but Beijing continues to ignore the decision.

For the AFP, the completion of the recent resupply mission reaffirmed its commitment not only to supporting the troops defending the WPS, but also to “upholding the Philippines’ sovereignty and sovereign rights—not only for today’s generation but for those to come.”