Marcos: ‘Arrangement’ on Ayungin missions doesn’t weaken PH stand
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Friday, August 14, that a 2024 “provisional arrangement” with Beijing covering military supply runs to the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal “does not weaken” the country’s position, amid criticism from various sectors and a recent flare-up of tensions in the area.
“That does not somehow make more vulnerable or give up any of our sovereign rights, any of our territorial claims that are relevant in this territory, especially under the UNCLOS at all, under the Arbitral Award. Nothing of that has been weakened in any way, shape, or form,” said Marcos in a luncheon with foreign correspondents in Manila.
The provisional arrangement, alternatively referred to as an agreement or understanding, was forged between Manila and Beijing in 2024 in the aftermath of a tense confrontation between elite Philippine soldiers and the China Coast Guard (CCG) during a rotation and resupply mission (RORE) to the BRP Sierra Madre.
A Filipino soldier lost his finger as a result of the confrontation right as the base of the rusting ship, which has served as an outpost for Philippine soldiers since 1999.
The details of the arrangement have been, for the most part, confidential. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has said, in statements through the years, that it does not involve asking “permission” from Beijing to conduct these missions, nor does it prevent the Philippines from bringing supplies to fix the World War II-era ship.
Former DFA chief Enrique Manalo had said in the past that the arrangement necessitated a mutual exchange of information. Marcos revealed more details of the confidential agreement on Friday.
The Philippines, he said, issues a Notice to Mariners or NOTAM. Marcos described it as a “notice to your maritime movements.”
Ayungin Shoal is a low-tide elevation within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the South China Sea, which is part of what the Philippines calls the West Philippine Sea.
The Philippines ought to have sovereign rights in its EEZ, incuding Ayungin Shoal, as affirmed by the 2016 Arbitral Award. But Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea as its territory, to include parts of the Philippine EEZ.
The Ayungin arrangement made headlines again in July, after a confrontation between the CCG and Philippine soldiers as the former sailed close to the Sierra Madre. The Chinese ambassador in Manila claimed they had to inspect a construction that had taken place in the ship given that the agreement, supposedly, barred that.
The DFA has denied Ambassador Jing Quan’s claims.
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., one of the most vocal critics of China in the Philippine government, has either expressed doubt over the existence of the arrangement or denied having a hand in it.
Asked on Friday, Marcos did not comment on whether he knew of the arrangement’s details but defended the deal, and said that “there is no special arrangement.”
“Our ships are going; our vessels will sail. They will resupply, or they will patrol, or they will – any time that they do sail, that NOTAM is issued. That’s the extent of it,” he added. – Rappler.com
