China gave permission for a civilian ship sent by the Philippines to take supplies to its "illegally" beached warship at the Second Thomas Shoal, the Asian giant's coast guard said on Friday. "It is hoped the Philippines will honour its commitments,

China has held sea and air combat drills at disputed Scarborough Shoal, an uninhabited area of reefs and rocks it had seized from the Philippines in the South China Sea.

The Philippines has protested China’s baselines around the disputed Scarborough Shoal, as tensions between the two nations build up anew over their competing claims in the South China Sea.