VIENTIANE, July 27 (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he was pleased the Philippines was able to complete a resupply mission to its troops at a disputed sandbank in the South China Sea without hindrance on Saturday, and praised diplomacy with China on the issue.
China has criticized the United States' "ironclad" pledge to support the Philippines
Blinken made the comments at the opening of a meeting with foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Laos.
The Philippine missions to the Second Thomas Shoal have been a source of heated confrontation between the two rivals for months. Last week, the two rivals announced an “arrangement” to carry out the operations in a bid to ease tensions amid concerns about escalation in the region.
(Reporting by Simon Lewis; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
