Overview

• The Philippines denies China's claim of a 'temporary special arrangement' allowing the delivery of supplies to Philippine troops on a disputed South China Sea reef.
• The Chinese coast guard stated it had temporarily allowed the Philippines to air-drop supplies to the BRP Sierra Madre, a vessel grounded at the Second Thomas Shoal.
• The Philippines' occupation of the shoal has been a point of contention in recent disputes with China, which have intensified under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
• China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion in annual ship commerce, with its territorial claims overlapping with the exclusive economic zones of several countries.
• In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague ruled that China's claims had no legal basis, a decision Beijing has rejected.