The Philippine Navy has transported food and other supplies to a territorial outpost on a shoal in the South China Sea, without any confrontation with Chinese forces guarding the disputed area, officials said.

The Philippines’ delivery of supplies and military personnel Thursday to the Second Thomas Shoal was the third such trip that has led to no clashes since July, when the two sides signed a rare agreement to end an alarming surge violent clashes.

“The Armed Forces of the Philippines continues to uphold its mandate to safeguard the sovereignty of the Philippines and ensure the welfare of its personnel stationed in the West Philippine Sea,” military spokesperson Col. Xerxes Trinidad said. using the Filipino name for the South China Sea.

“There were no untoward incidents during the mission,” Colonel Trinidad said.

The Philippines occupied the shoal by permanently beaching a navy ship in its shallow waters in 1999, prompting China, which also claims it, to encircle the atoll with its coast guard and naval forces. , in what constitutes a continuing territorial impasse.

Called Ayungin by the Philippines and Ren’ai Jiao by China, the shoal was the most dangerous hotspot in the South China Sea and became the scene of increasingly violent clashes beginning in latest which alarmed other governments, led by the United States.

The agreement, which has not been made public, outlines a temporary arrangement that allows the Philippines to transport supplies and new batches of Philippine forces to the Manila maritime outpost without confronting the Chinese coast guard, the navy and presumed militia ships guarding the shoal.

Neither side conceded territorial claims under the agreement, which only applies to the Second Thomas Shoal, according to Philippine officials.

They spoke on condition of anonymity because they lacked authority to publicly discuss the negotiations.

It is China’s first known deal with a rival claimant country over a specific shoal in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost in its entirety.

Before the deal was reached, Chinese coast guard and naval forces had used powerful water cannons and dangerous blocking maneuvers to prevent Philippine supply ships from reaching the fragile Manila outpost, the rusty and long-stranded warship, the BRP Sierra Madre.

In the worst confrontation, Chinese forces aboard speedboats repeatedly rammed and boarded two Philippine navy boats on June 17 to prevent Filipino personnel from transferring food and other supplies, including firearms, at BRP Sierra Madre, the Philippine Army said.

Chinese forces seized Philippine navy boats and damaged them with machetes and improvised spears.

They also seized seven M4 rifles, packed in crates, along with other supplies during a chaotic clash that injured several Philippine navy personnel.

The attack was filmed and photographed, which were later made public by Philippine authorities.

China and the Philippines blame each other for the confrontation. The United States, Japan and Australia were among those who condemned Chinese actions from the bench.

While clashes have ceased at Second Thomas Shoal, sporadic clashes have continued elsewhere in the South China Sea.

Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Taiwan and, at times, Indonesia, have also been involved in long-running territorial disputes over this busy waterway.