Thursday’s delivery of supplies and military personnel from the Philippines to the second Thomas Shoal was the third such trip without confrontation since July, when both sides signed a rare agreement to halt an alarming escalation of violent confrontations.

“The Armed Forces of the Philippines continues to uphold its mandate to safeguard Philippine sovereignty and ensure the welfare of personnel stationed in the West Philippine Sea,” military spokesman Colonel Xerxes Trinidad said, using the Filipino name for the South China Sea .

“There were no untoward incidents during the mission,” Trinidad said.

Named Ayungin by the Philippines and Ren’ai Jiao by China, the shoal had been the most dangerous flashpoint in the South China Sea and has become the scene of increasingly violent confrontations since last year that have alarmed other governments, led by United States.

The agreement, which has not been made public, features a temporary arrangement that allows the Philippines to transport supplies and new batches of Philippine forces to the ship’s outpost in Manila without clashing with the coast guard, navy and suspected militia vessels guarding the shoal.