Two Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ships stood their ground against 24 Chinese vessels during a possible rotation and resupply (RORE) mission of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) on Friday, Sept. 5.

Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, AFP spokesperson for WPS, said four China Coast Guard (CCG) ships and 20 Chinese maritime militia vessels were monitored in the vicinity of the shoal, located 105 nautical miles west of Palawan.

“These have been the numbers for the past four, maybe five days. Before that, I mentioned that only four militia and two coast guard vessels remained because most likely on account of the unfavorable weather,” he said, hinting that the increased Chinese presence could be attributed to an ongoing operation.

While Trinidad refused to confirm that the AFP launched another resupply mission to bring food and other provisions to troops manning the BRP Sierra Madre outpost, maritime security analyst Ray Powell said PCG ships BRP Bagacay and BRP Malapscua were en route to Ayungin Shoal.

“Philippines’ resupply mission to Second Thomas Shoal seems underway with at least two coast guard ships, BRP Bacagay and BRP Malapascua, in support,” he said on X.

PCG ships would often act as escorts for civilian resupply boats tapped by the AFP to do the RORE mission.

Powell, director of SeaLight project at Stanford University's Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, said the PCG ships were engaged by CCG vessels with tail numbers “5304” and “23514”, respectively.

He added that there were nine large Qiong Sansha Yu maritime militia ships visible surrounding the shoal.

“Not clear yet whether China is impeding the resupply boat itself. If so, that would mark the end [of] the agreement reached after last year's dramatic June 17th confrontation,” Powell noted.

Manila and Beijing reached a provisional agreement in July 2024 to ensure unhampered RORE missions to Ayungin Shoal.

The deal was reached after a violent resupply mission on June 17, 2024 where a Philippine Navy personnel dismembered his finger after a Philippine vessel was rammed by a Chinese vessel.

In January this year, both sides reaffirmed their commitment to uphold the provisional agreement during the 10th Bilateral Consultation Mechanism (BCM) in Xiamen, China.

However, the situation is now uncertain after two Chinese vessels collided in Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough or Panatag Shoal) on Aug. 11 while chasing a PCG ship, with both sides blaming each other for the maritime mishap.

For the AFP, Trinidad assured the public that the resupply missions would continue even under pressure from China.

“We cannot abandon our troops on the frontlines. It is the moral obligation of the leadership of the Armed Forces to provide, especially food, to our men,” he said.