Renai Shoal has recently become one of the hot spots in the South China Sea sovereignty dispute between the Philippines and China. Philippine civil society organizations announced today that they plan to send 40 fishing boats on December 5 to deliver supplies donated by the public to Philippine troops stationed at Renai Shoal, where the warship ran aground Was.
Several Filipino groups formed the “This Is Ours” (Atin Ito) coalition to launch the operation. This is the first time that Philippine civil society has planned to go to Renai Shoal to deliver supplies to the defenders of the stranded warship.
Philippines, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei,vietnamAndIndonesiaThere are sovereignty disputes in the South China Sea between the United States and other countries. In 1999, Manila authorities deliberately beached the World War II-era landing ship BRP Sierra Madre at Renai Shoal and deployed troops to establish de facto control. Therefore, the Philippine Army needs to transport supplies regularly.
As the Chinese coast guard is blocking the Philippine side from delivering supplies to Renai Shoal, and has repeatedly fired high-pressure water jets at Philippine supply ships, will Filipino civilians be hindered or even have conflicts or accidents? This has attracted a lot of attention.
Jonathan Malaya, assistant chairman of the National Security Council of the Philippines, said on the 16th that Renai Shoal is a hot spot and the situation there is tense. “Therefore, the National Security Council regrets that when it comes to Iengin Shoal, we cannot support (civilian repatriation operations).”
He said that even if civil society groups had good intentions, “we strongly discourage these groups from conducting replenishment operations” for security reasons.
However, Amman Hizen, one of the supporters of the replenishment operation and media liaison, told the Central News Agency today that they will still pursue plans to replenish Anai Shoal and invited media colleagues for interviews.
Sison said: “We understand the concerns raised by the National Security Council, and I think these concerns are very reasonable. We also recognize that there are many different challenges to this operation, not just the Chinese coast guard. The attendance, but also the weather, and we are also considering the tide, but if everything remains in our favour, we will definitely go ahead with this operation.
“We want to tell the government that they should not discourage citizens from going there, but should ensure the safety of our people there because this is a normal, regular activity of citizens within the area and there is nothing controversial in it.” ” He said.
Sisong said they are coordinating relevant details with the Philippine Coast Guard, which has currently agreed to escort private supply ships to Renai Shoal. But the operation was civilian-led, and the Coast Guard’s sole role was to confirm that weather conditions were suitable for navigation and to ensure the safety of Filipino citizens.
He said this will be the first civilian-led replenishment operation at Renai Shoal in the Philippines, which is very historic, but “we hope civilians will do more operations there so that it’s not news anymore. That’s what we’re saying.” “Efforts are being made, and we Filipino citizens should go there (Ren Ai Shoah) to normalize it.”
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