Shoal resupply missions to remain PH operations

THE resupply missions to troops on Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal will remain purely Philippine operations, the National Security Council (NSC) said Sunday after Washington vowed to "do what is necessary" to support them.

The shoal, which hosts a tiny Philippine garrison stationed on a deliberately beached old warship, has been a focus of escalating confrontations between Chinese and Philippine ships in recent months as Beijing steps up efforts to push its claims to the entire South China Sea.