MANILA, Philippines — Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro on Thursday rejected China’s claim that alleged construction activities on the BRP Sierra Madre violated the provisional arrangement governing Philippine resupply missions to Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal.
“No, there is no mention of that undertaking in the provisional understanding,” Lazaro said during a press briefing on the third day of the 59th Association of Southeast Asian Nations Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Pasay City.
Her statement came two days after Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Jing Quan accused Manila of breaching the July 2024 understanding by allegedly undertaking construction work on the grounded Philippine Navy vessel, which serves as the country’s military outpost at Ayungin Shoal.
READ: Carpio: China cannot bar PH construction work at shoal
Jing claimed the reported activities violated the arrangement reached after months of confrontations during Philippine rotation and resupply missions and said the supposed breach triggered the latest encounter between Philippine and Chinese personnel near the shoal.
The accusation followed a confrontation on Monday near the BRP Sierra Madre, in which Philippine military officials said China Coast Guard personnel struck Philippine Navy troops with wooden batons during an encounter involving rubber boats.
Two Filipino Navy sailors were injured, and the Philippine Coast Guard later carried out a medical evacuation to bring them to Palawan despite the presence of China Coast Guard vessels in the area.
READ: Marcos summons Chinese envoy over Ayungin incident
Following the incident, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. summoned Jing at Malacañang on Tuesday.
Malacañang said Marcos raised the Ayungin incident and condemned what Palace Press Officer Claire Castro described as China’s “illegal, aggressive and barbaric actions” against Filipino personnel in the West Philippine Sea.
In a separate statement on Thursday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) clarified that the Philippines does not need China’s permission to conduct rotation and resupply missions to Ayungin Shoal and that the 2024 provisional arrangement does not recognize any Chinese authority over Philippine waters.
READ: DFA: Ayungin deal does not require China’s approval for PH missions
“The Provisional Understanding is a set of principles and approaches observed by both sides in order to avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation in the conduct of the Philippines’ routine rotation and resupply missions for daily necessities to the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal,” the DFA said.
The department added that the arrangement “is not a grant of or a request for permission to any foreign government” and “does not recognize any foreign jurisdiction over Philippine waters.”
The DFA issued the clarification after questions were raised about whether the arrangement required Manila to coordinate with or seek approval from China before sending missions to the Sierra Madre.
Manila and Beijing reached the provisional arrangement in July 2024 after a series of confrontations around Ayungin Shoal.
The department also said the arrangement does not allow the boarding or inspection of Philippine vessels and “does not concede the Philippines’ sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction.”
The DFA reiterated that Ayungin Shoal forms part of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and continental shelf under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, a position upheld by the 2016 South China Sea arbitral ruling.
The DFA said Ayungin, as a low-tide elevation, generates no maritime entitlement of its own and cannot be claimed by any other state.
It added that Philippine vessels do not require permission to sail to Ayungin and that only the Philippines may authorize structures on the shoal.
Ayungin Shoal lies about 194 kilometers west of Palawan.
China continues to claim sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, including areas that overlap with the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
Beijing has rejected the 2016 arbitral ruling, which invalidated the legal basis of its sweeping “nine-dash line” claim, later expanded to a “10-dash line.”
The DFA said the Philippines’ legal position “remains unchanged and non-negotiable” and that rotation and resupply missions to the BRP Sierra Madre would continue as part of routine government operations. /cb
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