AFP conducts airdrop mission to bring supplies to troops in Ayungin Shoal

The Armed Forces of the Philippines' (AFP) Western Command has conducted an airdrop mission in Ayungin Shoal, Unang Balita reported on Tuesday.

The mission aimed to bring supplies to troops stationed at BRP Sierra Madre amid China's attempts to block the Philippines' resupply missions to Ayungin Shoal. 

On Monday, the AFP announced that the resupply mission to the BRP Sierra Madre has been postponed because one of the indigenous boats used for the purpose, Unaiza Mae 1, has experienced "technical difficulty."

Ayungin Shoal is part of the Kalayaan Island Group, which is an integral part of the Philippines, as well as the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, over which the Philippines has sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction.

The BRP Sierra Madre has been grounded at the Ayungin Shoal since 1999. It is manned by more than a dozen Marines and sailors and has become a symbol of Philippine sovereignty in the offshore territory.

Tensions between China and the Philippines have heightened in recent months as both sides trade accusations over a series of incidents in the South China Sea, a portion of which is being called West Philippine Sea by Manila.

China claims most of the South China Sea, parts of which are also claimed by the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and Indonesia. 

An international tribunal in 2016 invalidated China's claim in a ruling on a case brought by the Philippines, which Beijing rejects.

The Philippines includes areas of the South China Sea that falls within its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf as part of the West Philippine Sea.  —KBK, GMA Integrated News