The Philippines maintains a handful of troops aboard the World War Two-era Sierra Madre at the Second Thomas Shoal, known by Manila as Ayungin shoal, which is located inside its 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ). "For all intents and purposes, it is a figment of their imagination," Malaya said, challenging China to produce evidence of the promise. China and the Philippines have been embroiled for years in on-off confrontations at the shoal, the latest on Saturday. The Philippines accused China's coast guard of using water cannon to impede a resupply mission to the Sierra Madre. China has built militarised, manmade islands in the South China Sea and its claim of historic sovereignty overlaps with the EEZs of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia.

Source: The Standard August 09, 2023 22:16 UTC