By Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio, Reporter

A PHILIPPINE civilian ship carrying volunteers reached Thitu Island in the South China Sea without being harassed by Chinese vessels, according to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

The 115-meter-long M/V Kapitan Felix Oca anchored 8.3 kilometers northeast of Thitu Island, where it plans to hold a concert at sea as part of efforts to bolster Manila’s claim in the contested waterway, the PCG said in a statement on Wednesday.

Three Chinese Coast Guard ships were seen loitering near the island in the Spratlys after the vessel carrying volunteers from the Atin Ito (This is Ours) coalition moored on Wednesday afternoon, it said. One was seen as close as 3.1 kilometers west of the island.

“We made it, and we’ve reached our destination,” Akbayan Party President Rafaela David, Atin Ito’s mission commander, said in Filipino, based on a Facebook livestream.

The PCG said its 97-meter BRP Melchora Aquino and 44-meter BRP Malapascua completed its mission of escorting the Philippine ship to Thitu Island.

“[We] remain dedicated to ensuring the safety and security of the civilians participating in the civil society-led concert in the area,” it said.

The civilian sail will hold a “peace concert” and provide fuel to Filipino fishermen living on the island where the Philippines has a military outpost, Atin Ito said in a separate statement.

Thitu Island, which the Philippines calls Pag-asa, is the second-biggest island in the disputed Spratly Islands, which China, Taiwan and Vietnam claim in their entirety. The Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei claim parts of the islands.

Competing claims in the disputed waters have led to frequent confrontations between Philippine and Chinese forces, and both have tried to assert their sovereignty through constant naval patrols and infrastructure build-up on the islands they control.

Tensions between Manila and Beijing flared again last week after a Chinese coast guard ship fired a water cannon on a Philippine civilian ship and bumped against it at Sandy Cay, which is near Thitu Island.

There are about 22 Chinese maritime militia ships anchored in waters near the barren sandbars, the PCG said.

A fleet of fishing boats greeted the M/V Kapitan Felix Oca as it was sailing toward Thitu as a show of “unity and solidarity” from Filipinos living on the island, according to Atin Ito.

“Artists delivered their music amid the tense shadowing presence of Chinese vessels,” it added.

“Through music, we forged solidarity across nations and declared to the world that our seas must be zones of peace, not arenas of conflict,” Ms. David said in the statement.

Volunteers aboard the ship held a flag-raising ceremony and distributed 220 liters of fuel to fishermen who live there.

“In these contested waters, every drop is a declaration of support, and every delivery is an act of courage,” she added.

A small Filipino community has lived on the isolated island since 1971. Thitu lies 500 kilometers west of the major Philippine island of Palawan.

Last year, a civilian flotilla of boats organized by Atin Ito failed to sail close to Chinese-occupied Scarborough Shoal to avoid a clash with dozens of Chinese ships patrolling the area.

The atoll is a vast fishing lagoon near major shipping lanes that China seized in 2012 after a standoff with Philippine troops.

China claims nearly all of the potentially mineral- and oil-rich South China Sea based on a 1940s nine-dash line map that overlaps with the exclusive waters of the Philippines and neighbors like Vietnam and Malaysia.

A United Nations-backed tribunal in 2016 voided China’s sweeping claims for being illegal, a ruling that Beijing does not recognize.

THE Philippines’ military chief on Wednesday dismissed rumors of a brewing coup, saying the armed forces are committed to upholding the Constitution.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is a “professional” and “disciplined” military that remains loyal to the chain of command and will shun any calls for a coup, Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Romeo S. Brawner, Jr. said in a statement.

“As long as I serve as chief of staff, no coup shall happen,” he said. “Not on my watch. We will not be shaken by rumor nor outmaneuvered by noise.”

The Southeast Asian nation is no stranger to coup attempts, having seen more than a dozen military mutinies since the restoration of democracy in 1986, after the late president Ferdinand E. Marcos was overthrown by a popular street uprising.

The last serious attempt to unseat a civilian government was in 2006, during the presidency of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, but it was foiled by state security forces and led to the arrest of several military and police officials. A week-long national state of emergency was declared to quell the uprising.

Each succeeding President has seen the threat of a coup by disgruntled troops, with the government of ex-President Rodrigo R. Duterte having to deal with alleged plots to unseat him during his 2016-2022 presidency.

Mr. Duterte has called for military action against his successor, Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., amid a political feud between their families. Troops hold the “solution” to Mr. Marcos’s “fractured government,” he said in November, before his arrest and surrender to the International Criminal Cout in The Hague in March.

“Isolated grievances do not define the AFP,” Mr. Brawner said, warning those spreading disinformation about the military’s morale could face “broader consequences.”

“To those who persist in creating instability, I offer this not as a rebuke, but as a reminder,” he said. “Do not sow doubt among the very ranks that safeguard our democracy. Do not attempt to influence or mislead soldiers.”

In 2023, Mr. Brawner was quoted in reports as saying that he had heard of plots to destabilize the Marcos government.

National Security Adviser Eduardo M. Año quickly rejected coup rumors against Mr. Marcos, saying the military remained loyal to the President despite criticisms from former military officials about “certain policies.” — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio

A CONGRESSMAN on Wednesday urged President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. to keep his top envoy amid a shake-up in his Cabinet.

Replacing Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique A. Manalo would be a loss for the agency, Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus B. Rodriguez said in a statement.

He does not deserve to be replaced after his campaign to stake the Southeast Asian nation’s claim in the contested South China Sea, he added.

“[He] has led the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) with a clear vision of our national interest and has been working hard to protect our sovereign rights under international law, especially for our West Philippine Sea,” Mr. Rodriguez said.

Mr. Marcos last week called for the resignation of his top ministers as part of a “bold reset” of his government to better serve Filipinos. It came after administration-backed senatorial candidates underwhelmingly performed in the midterm elections.

The President’s allies failed to win majority of the 12 seats, leaving Mr. Marcos a divided political and legislative landscape that could thwart his attempt to have an ally succeed him in 2028.

Mr. Manalo has been appointed as the country’s permanent representative to the United Nations (UN) in New York, a post he held before, and would be replaced by Undersecretary Maria Theresa P. Lazaro on July 31, Executive Secretary Lucas P. Bersamin said last week.

The Philippines’ top envoy is expected to handle souring diplomatic tensions with China over disputes in the South China Sea and push a long-awaited code of conduct in the waters, as Philippine officials eye its completion next year when the country hosts the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

“If he accepts the UN assignment… he will be reporting to his new DFA boss, who is now one of his undersecretaries,” Mr. Rodriguez said. “I don’t think that is fair to Secretary Manalo.”

Mr. Manalo will replace Antonio Manuel R. Lagdameo as head of the Philippines’ diplomatic mission to the UN.

Instead of transferring Mr. Manalo, Mr. Rodriguez said another career diplomat should replace the retiring UN representative.

“The country’s representative to the UN is a plum post,” he said. “Many senior career DFA personnel would surely aspire for that.” — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio