View from Manila: Who’s lying about the PH-China ‘arrangement’ in Ayungin Shoal?
Manila and Beijing disagree on what the bilateral arrangement contains
MANILA, Philippines – In a span of around 15 hours, the Philippines went from announcing an “understanding on the provisional arrangement” with China on resupply missions to Ayungin Shoal to issuing a statement blasting Beijing’s foreign spokesperson an “inaccurate” statement about the bilateral deal.
Despite this, the arrangement apparently still stands.
For the past month, the marching order from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to the defense-security-diplomacy apparatus has been clear: bring tensions down in the West Philippine Sea. As such, Philippine talking heads – even the feistiest – have turned more cautious and deliberate than usual.
Marcos further spelled this out during his third State of the Nation Address on Monday, July 22, which was hours after the latest exchange between the foreign ministries of Beijing and Manila. The President stressed that the Philippines would “continuously try to find ways to de-escalate tensions in contested areas with our counterparts, without compromising our position and our principles.”
“I know that our neighbors too are doing their very best to make this work,” he added, without saying who those neighbors were.
But what’s in the bilateral arrangement? We don’t know so far.
De-escalate situation
In press statement sent at 6:03 pm on Sunday, July 21, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesperson Teresita Daza announced that the “The Philippines and the People’s Republic of China have reached an understanding on the provisional arrangement for the resupply of daily necessities and rotation missions to the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal.”
The DFA spokesperson added: “This was achieved after a series of consultations following the frank and constructive discussions between the two sides during the 9th Bilateral Consultation Mechanism (BCM) on the South China Sea in Manila on 2 July 2024.”
“Both sides continue to recognize the need to de-escalate the situation in the South China Sea and manage differences through dialogue and consultation and agree that the agreement will not prejudice each other’s positions in the South China Sea.”
In a statement released at 12:42 am on Monday, July 22, the spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the provisional arrangement was made through consultations rooted on three “principled positions.”
Beijing’s position was that:
- The Philippines has (and continues to) violate “China’s sovereignty and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea” by keeping the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal (which China calls Ren’ai Jiao).
- China is “willing to allow” the Philippines to “send living necessities to the personnel living on the warship” as long as the Philippines tells China in advance and allows “on-site verification,” with China monitoring the entire process. Beijing also laid out a premise: that the BRP Sierra Madre will eventually be removed from the shoal.
- That China would “absolutely not accept… and will resolutely stop” the Philippines should it “[a] send large amount of construction materials to the warship and attempt to build fixed facilities or [a] permanent outpost.”
In Beijing’s mind, the arrangement is skewed in their favor.
China got it wrong?
The DFA denied this eight hours later.
In a statement sent at 9:27 am on Monday, July 22, Daza said her Chinese counterpart’s “statement… regarding prior notification and on-site confirmation is inaccurate.”
“I want to stress that the agreement was concluded with the clear understanding by both sides that it will not prejudice our respective national positions,” said the Filipino diplomat.
She added: “For the Philippines, this means that we will continue to assert our rights and jurisdiction in our maritime zones as entitled under UNCLOS, including in Ayungin Shoal which is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf.”
Reporting from the Associated Press ahead of China’s early morning statement indicated that China’s apparent demands – for Manila not to bring construction materials and to give “advance notice” and the right to inspect ships – did not make it to the draft deal.
So to summarize: the Philippines said the deal does not compromise the Philippine position, and that because Ayungin Shoal is within the Philippine EEZ, China has no right to say what cannot be brought to the shoal or to demand inspections, among other things.
China said its “principled positions” — in direct opposition to ours — informed their negotiations.
The notes exchanged between the two sides are unlikely to be published. The DFA seldom makes public the full text of recent bilateral deals or agreements. Maritime agreements with Vietnam and Brunei were never officially made public. It was Japan that published in full the text of the landmark Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA).
The media has been asking the DFA to release the arrangement in full — after all, it concerns regular missions to the BRP Sierra Madre that often turn violent. Last month’s iteration resulted in the destruction of Philippine Navy equipment, and the loss of one soldier’s right thumb.
There was no sense of jubilation among officials, at least in the Philippines, after the agreement was announced. No public comments were made as well — the Philippine Coast Guard deferred all comments to the DFA, and Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr said he’d yet to be briefed on the arrangement, and therefore did not want to comment.
“I am certain that the DFA is conscious of those parameters that it cannot exceed and I have no reason to doubt that such parameters were not heeded in coming into this arrangement or agreement with China,” Teodoro told ANC.
Distrust
It’s not surprising for officials to be lukewarm toward the deal.
China’s record when it comes to bilateral agreements in the West Philippine Sea isn’t exactly stellar. China lied when it claimed in 1995 that it had only built a fisherman’s shelter in Mischief Reef. The supposed shelter has morphed into a military outpost. It’s why the BRP Sierra Madre is there in the first place.
In 2012, after a US-brokered agreement for both the Philippines and China to pull out of Scarborough Shoal to end a standoff, it was only Manila that complied. Beijing has occupied the reef, a heartbeat away from resource-rich Recto Bank and roughly 130 nautical miles away from Palawan.
China claims it has no reason to trust us, too. Beijing claims to not understand why the Philippines shifted so dramatically from the supposed “status quo” agreement forged under former president Rodrigo Duterte. They’ve claimed the existence of new deals, or models, or agreements, under Marcos. The Philippines said they don’t exist — or that they weren’t made through the proper channels and personalities.
But let’s zoom in on a vague but key term from the first Philippine statement: that the arrangement pertains to the “resupply [of] daily necessities.”
Does this refer to only food and medicine (and the occasional treat, like cigarettes, or betel nut, or instant coffee)? Or are construction materials – brought in to make sure soldiers are as comfortable as possible – considered a daily necessity?
We’ll know when another rotation and resupply mission – already quite overdue – takes place before July ends. – Rappler.com