Chinese and Philippine forces again avoid a clash in a fiercely disputed shoal under a rare deal

Associated Press

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine navy has transported food and other supplies to a territorial ship outpost in a shoal in the South China Sea without any confrontation with Chinese forces guarding the area. The Philippine delivery of supplies and military personnel to the Second Thomas Shoal was the third such trip without any violent clash since July, when Chinese and Philippine diplomats signed a rare deal to halt a spike in violent confrontations. It’s the first known agreement by China with any one rival claimant country in a specific shoal in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost in its entirety.