The Philippines will keep asserting its rights in the South China Sea after it reached a "provisional arrangement" with China about its resupply missions to the contested Second Thomas Shoal, its foreign ministry said on Monday.
While neither the Chinese foreign ministry nor the Philippines' Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) provided details of the arrangement, Manila said it "will not prejudice our respective national positions."
"In our desire to de-escalate the situation in the South China Sea to manage differences in a peaceful manner, we emphasize that the agreement was done in good faith and the Philippines remains ready to implement it," the DFA said in a statement.