China said on Friday the Philippines had sent supplies to a beached warship on Second Thomas Shoal, a disputed atoll in the South China Sea. In a separate statement, the Phlippine Coast Guard said it had rotated personnel staffing the Sierra Madre and sent supplies to the vessel.

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.

CANBERRA >> China is stepping up pressure on the Philippines to concede its sovereign rights in the South China Sea, Manila’s Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said on Tuesday after meeting his Australian counterpart in Canberra.