Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. confirmed that a recent resupply mission for the troops stationed at the grounded World War II Philippine Navy ship in Ayungin Shoal was successful.

Brawner said the latest resupply was done through airdrops.

"The last resupply we conducted was successful. We are not going to divulge the details but it's enough to say we will continue bringing supplies to our troops. We will continue rotating our troops to all the features we are occupying in the West Philippine Sea and we will continue to protect our sovereignty and sovereign rights," he said.

Unlike the previous airdrop that was intercepted by Chinese Coast Guard, Brawner said there was no interference during the last resupply mission.

"No one seized our supplies. We make sure that they will not be able to intercept our supplies but at the same time we are also careful not to escalate the situation because our objective is to prevent war, but at the same time we have to assert our rights in the West Philippine Sea," he added.

It can be recalled that one of the four sorties of supplies airdropped for the troops in Ayungin Shoal last May 19 was intercepted by the Chinese Coast Guard.

Some supplies sank after the China Coast Guard threw it back into the water knowing that it only contained food and medicine for troops. Robina Asido/DMS