As a sovereign nation, the Philippines does not have to ask the permission of any country like China to operate within its exclusive economic zone, a military official said Monday.

Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla made the statement following the claim of the China Coast Guard that it had made “temporary special arrangements” so that the Philippines could resupply its troops at Ayungin Shoal.

Previous missions of the Philippine Coast Guard and Navy to bring fresh troops and supplies to the BRP Sierra Madre were harassed by the CCG, which used water cannons and a military grade laser against the crews of the resupply vessels.

The rusting World War 2-era Sierra Madre was intentionally grounded at the shoal to serve as a permanent outpost in the West Philippine Sea, which is also claimed by China as part of the larger South China Sea.

Padilla said no such arrangements were made or need to be made between the Philippines and China as the resupply efforts to Ayungin Shoal were a regular mission of the AFP.

“We keep saying that we are going to provide for the morale and welfare of our troops, including those on LS 57 (Sierra Madre). We do not need any permission from any country to do it,” she said.

Padilla said the AFP’s commitment to its mission in the WPS will remain intact despite the increasing number of Chinese vessels patrolling in the area.

“This will continue. The AFP’s mission is to give our troops the provisions they need for their morale and welfare,” she stressed, adding that no words from China could stop the Philippines from asserting its sovereign rights to the WPS.

China has a vast claim to almost the entire South China Sea which overlaps the exclusive economic zones of Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia.

Last 21 January, the AFP airdropped the supplies to the troops stationed on the Sierra Madre.