The Philippine defense secretary says his country sent fresh troops and supplies to a Philippine-occupied shoal in the disputed South China Sea where Chinese ships recently established a presence, AP reported. Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said Wednesday that a small contingent of Filipino marines was sent to replace troops at the Second Thomas Shoal early this week. The Filipino troops are stationed in a rusty Philippine hospital ship that ran aground in 1999 on the shallow coral outcrop and has since become an awkward symbol of Philippine sovereignty. The Philippines protested last month the entry of a Chinese warship and maritime surveillance vessels to the area in a new territorial standoff between the Asian nations.
