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| Date | December 10, 2023 | ||
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The Atin Ito Christmas convoy is a civilian-led mission to deliver donated goods to Filipino troops stationed in the Spratly Islands, a feature claimed by several countries including the Philippines and China. The Atin Ito Coalition is an organization which supports the Philippines' sovereignty claims in the South China Sea.
West Philippine Sea – Atin Ito (transl. West Philippines Sea – It is Ours) is a civilian-led initiative to launch expeditions in support of the Philippines' claim in the South China Sea dispute. It is also in opposition to the People's Republic of China's assertions of its own territorial claim over the sea. [1] [2] [3]
Its name bears the designation West Philippine Sea, a name introduced by the Philippine government to refer to parts of the South China Sea covering waters and islands claimed by the Philippines including the Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal.
The Atin Ito coalition planned on holding a convoy of marine vessels to deliver donated supplies to Filipino troops stationed at the grounded BRP Sierra Madre at Second Thomas Shoal. [4]
The National Security Council (NSC) has cautioned against the plan saying the organization could visit other Philippine occupied features in the Spratlys. It also suggest turning over donations to the Philippine Navy and Philippine Coast Guard instead. [4] [5] The coalition insist that it would push through with their plan despite the discouragement. [6] The NSC would eventually approve the convoy on the condition that its vessels would only pass through the general area near Second Thomas Shoal. [7] [8] The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea also approved of the plan. [9]
The final plan is for the convoy to sail near Second Thomas Shoal and Nanshan and Flat Islands. [10] The convoy was to consist 40 boats with a "mother vessel" which could accommodate 100 people. [8]
M/V Kapitan Felix Oca, the lead ship of the Christmas convoy with 40 volunteers departed from Manila for El Nido, Palawan on December 8, 2023. [11] Carrying humanitarian supplies meant for Filipinos in the Spratlys Islands, the ship arrived in El Nido the following day. [12]
The Christmas convoy, officially commenced in the early morning of December 10. The marine vessels departed from El Nido's San Fernando Port. The convoy had a total of 200 people which includes 100 fishers, 20 youth and student leaders, 20 sectoral representatives as well as 60 journalists working for domestic and international media outlets. [13] The Philippine Coast Guard's BRP Melchora Aquino served as ecort. [14]
The plan for the Christmas convoy was revised due to a separate incident during the morning between Filipino and Chinese ships involving the Second Thomas Shoal. [15] This cancelled the Atin To's plan to sail near the shoal. [16] China later laid blame on the Philippines for the encounter. [17] [18]
In the afternoon, Kapitan Felix was heading towards Nanshan Island when it decided to go back to El Nido. A mass was being held by its passengers when two People’s Liberation Army Navy ships including Chinese destroyer Changsha (173) and Chinese Coast Guard vessel 5305 appeared nearby. [19] [14]
ML Chowee, a smaller vessel part of the convoy, sailed a different route from Kapitan Felix. Evading bigger Chinese vessels, it was able to deliver supplies to Filipino troops in Nanshan Island in the morning. [15]
Bishop Broderick Pabillo of the Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay in Palawan expressed support for the conduct of the Christmas convoy. [20]
The Atin Ito Coalition vowed to organize future resupply missions with the next one projected to be held in early 2024. [21] [22] A convoy visiting Scarborough Shoal is scheduled to be held on May 15, 2024. [23]
Kalayaan, officially the Municipality of Kalayaan, is a 5th class municipality in the South China Sea under the jurisdiction of the province of Palawan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 193 people making it the least populated town in the Philippines.
Locally known as Pag-asa Island, its international name is Thitu Island. Having an area of 37.2 hectares, it is the second largest of the naturally occurring island in Spratly Islands. It lies about 500 kilometers (310 mi) west of Puerto Princesa. Its neighbors are the North Danger Reef to the north, Subi Reef to the west, and the Loaita and Tizard Banks to the south. As the poblacion of the Kalayaan municipality of Palawan province in the Philippines, it also administers nearly a dozen other islets, cays and reefs in the Spratly Islands.
The Philippines has claims on territories which include the Spratly Islands, portions of North Borneo, and the Scarborough Shoal.
USS LST-821, renamed USS Harnett County (LST-821/AGP-281), is an LST-542-class tank landing ship built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was named for Harnett County, North Carolina and was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name. She served the United States Navy in World War II and the Vietnam War. She was transferred to South Vietnam's Republic of Vietnam Navy, which named her RVNS My Tho (HQ-800).
Philippines and the Spratly Islands – this article discusses the policies, activities and history of the Republic of the Philippines in the Spratly Islands from the Philippine perspective. Non-Philippine viewpoints regarding Philippine occupation of several islands are currently not included in this article.
Nanshan Island, also known as Lawak Island, is the eighth largest natural island of the Spratly Islands, and the fourth largest of the Philippine-occupied islands. It has an area of 7.93 hectares. It is located 98 miles (158 km) east of Thitu Island (Pag-asa).
Bilateral relations between China and the Philippines had significantly progressed since the 1990s, peaking during the Philippine presidencies of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Rodrigo Duterte. However, relations have become increasingly tense due to territorial disputes in the South China Sea, particularly since the 2012 Scarborough Shoal standoff; in 2013, the Philippine government under President Benigno Aquino III in 2013 filed an arbitration case at The Hague against China over China's expansive maritime claims. The policy of current Philippine president Bongbong Marcos aims for distancing relations between the Philippines and China in favor of the country's relationship with the United States. The current policy of the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party aims for greater influence over the Philippines, and the region in general, while combating American influence.
The Scarborough Shoal standoff is a dispute between the Philippines and the People's Republic of China over the Scarborough Shoal. Tensions began on April 8, 2012, after the attempted apprehension by the Philippine Navy of eight mainland Chinese fishing vessels near the shoal.
Half Moon Shoal, also known as Bànyuè Jiāo and Hasa Hasa Shoal, is an atoll at the eastern edge of the Spratly Islands of the South China Sea. China, the Philippines, Taiwan (ROC) and Vietnam have competing claims over the atoll. It is located close to Northeast Investigator Shoal and 100 km from Palawan, Philippines.
Reed Tablemount is a large tablemount or guyot in the South China Sea north-east of Dangerous Ground and north-east of the Spratly Islands. It covers an area of 8,866 square kilometres (3,423 sq mi), but with depths between only 9 and 45 metres. The submerged but hydrocarbon-rich area includes Nares Bank and Marie Louise Bank.
Second Thomas Shoal, also known as Ayungin Shoal, Bãi Cỏ Mây (Vietnamese) and Rén'ài Jiāo, is a submerged reef in the Spratly Islands of the South China Sea, 105 nautical miles west of Palawan, Philippines. It is a disputed territory and claimed by several nations. The reef is occupied by Philippine Navy personnel aboard ship, the BRP Sierra Madre (LT-57), that was intentionally grounded on the reef in 1999 and has been periodically replenished since then.
Sabina Shoal, also known as Escoda Shoal ; Mandarin Chinese: 仙賓礁/仙宾礁; pinyin: Xiānbīn Jiāo; Vietnamese: Bãi Sa Bin, is an atoll in the NE of Dangerous Ground in the Spratly Islands. The Philippines puts it under the jurisdiction of Brgy. Pag-asa, Kalayaan, Palawan. It is also claimed by the People's Republic of China, and the Republic of China (Taiwan) and Vietnam.
The article covers events that are related to the South China Sea dispute. In the South China Sea, historically China, Japan and France have disputed over Spratly and Paracel Islands. Presently, the Paracel Islands are disputed among China (PRC), Taiwan (ROC), and Vietnam, while Pratas Island is contested between China and Taiwan. Additionally, the Spratly Islands are subject to intertwined claims by China, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei. Because of this, numerous countries with territorial disputes have had conflicts in the South China Sea since the past.
Commodore Reef, also known as Rizal Reef, is a atoll located in the southeast of Dangerous Ground in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. It is located east of the Ardasier Reef and Investigator Shoal, 117.9 miles (189.7 km) NE of Swallow Reef and 167.1 miles (268.9 km) SE of Cuarteron Reef. The rock has been legally declared a rock.
The exclusive economic zone of the Philippines mandated by UNCLOS consists of four subzones. It covers 2,263,816 square kilometers (874,064 sq mi) of sea. The Philippines has 7,641 islands comprising the Philippine archipelago. The coordinates are between 116° 40', and 126° 34' E longitude and 4° 40' and 21° 10' N latitude. It is bordered by the Philippine Sea to the east and north, the South China Sea to the west, and the Celebes Sea to the south.
The 2019 Reed Bank incident occurred when F/B Gem-Ver, a Philippine fishing boat anchored in Reed Bank in the South China Sea, sank after it was rammed by a Chinese vessel, Yuemaobinyu 42212, during the early morning hours of 9 June 2019. The stricken vessel's crew was later rescued by a Vietnamese fishing vessel.
Deo Florence L. Onda is a Filipino microbial oceanographer. He is known for being the first Filipino to descend into the Emden Deep in the Philippine Trench.
On March 22, 2021, a diplomatic incident started after the Philippines filed a diplomatic protest against China due to the presence of more than 200 Chinese fishing vessels at Whitsun Reef as early as March 7, 2021. The reef is part of the contested Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.
On February 6, 2023, the China Coast Guard and Philippine Coast Guard had an encounter near the Second Thomas Shoal, one of the features of the Spratly Islands which is subject to a wider dispute in the South China Sea.
On August 5, 2023, a China Coast Guard ship blocked a Philippine Coast Guard ship en route to the Philippine-occupied Second Thomas Shoal in the disputed Spratly Islands.
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