BEIJING (Reuters) – China gave permission for a civilian ship sent by the Philippines to take supplies to its “illegally” beached warship at the Second Thomas Shoal, the Asian giant’s coast guard said on Friday.
“It is hoped the Philippines will honour its commitments, work with China in the same direction, and jointly manage the maritime situation,” the agency’s spokesperson, Liu Dejun, said in a statement on Thursday’s trip.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, despite overlapping claims by Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
In 2016 the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague said China’s claims had no legal basis, a ruling Beijing rejects.
(Reporting by Joe Cash; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
