Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner, Jr. assured troops stationed at BRP Sierra Madre, the country’s military outpost in Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal) in the West Philippine Sea, that much-needed supplies will be arriving soon.
He said the AFP is already preparing the next rotation and resupply (RoRe) mission to the marooned ship.
Brawner, who attended the Combined and Joint Forcible Entry Operation (CJFEO) exercise under ALON 2025 in Palawan on Sunday, noted that troops successfully cleared the shoal of obstructions after Chinese forces laid down fishing nets to hamper mobility.
“They laid down nets, so the order of our Western commander was to cut the fishing nets so that mobility would still be allowed within the shoal itself. This is in preparation of course for our resupply mission that we are going to do one of these days,” he said.
Earlier, he noted that Philippine forces had managed to push back recent Chinese intrusions near Ayungin, restoring calm in the area.
Meanwhile, Vice Adm. Alfonso Torres Jr., chief of the AFP’s Western Command (Wescom), said Navy and Marine personnel aboard BRP Sierra Madre remain “in high spirits” and continue with their routine duties despite recent tensions near Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal.
“They are practically doing their routine. They do what we instructed them to do. [I told them] Do your job, do it well, and do it with excellence so that they won’t be affected by what is happening,” he said, adding that Wescom forces remain on constant alert to respond to any eventuality.
The number of troops aboard the Sierra Madre remains undisclosed for security reasons, but Torres emphasized that morale is high among the contingent guarding the outpost, which has stood as the country’s last line of defense in the disputed waters since 1999.
Ayungin Shoal is a submerged reef in the Spratly Islands. It is located 105 nautical miles west of Palawan and is within the Philippines’ 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
