DEFENSE Secretary Gilbert Teodoro maintained on Saturday, April 27, 2024, that the Philippines has not entered into any contracts with any Chinese government officials concerning Ayungin Shoal.
In a statement, Teodoro slammed China anew for “another crude attempt to advance a falsehood.”
“The Department of National Defense is not aware of, nor is it a party to, any internal agreement with China on Ayungin Shoal since President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. took office. As a matter of fact, the Department of National Defense has not had any contact with any Chinese government officials since last year,” he said.
“This is all a part of the Chinese propaganda effort to steer the Filipino people's attention away from the real issue and cause of the tensions in the West Philippine Sea, which is China's obstinate refusal to adhere to Unclos (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea), which they are a signatory to,” he added.
Teodoro reiterated that the Philippine government, under the administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., will never enter into any agreement that will compromise the country’s sovereignty and sovereign rights under the Unclos, as affirmed by the 2016 Arbitral Ruling.
On Monday, China foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that China has reached a “common understanding” with the Philippine government with both the former administration of Rodrigo Duterte and the current administration of Marcos regarding the handling of the Ayungin Shoal in an effort to stabilize the situation.
"This is the plain fact, as evidenced by the Philippines’ media reports, statements of officials in the previous administration, and how China and the Philippines handled the Ren’ai Jiao issue. The Philippines keeps denying these common understandings. What exactly is their issue? Is there something they are trying to hide?" Wang said.
Ren’ai Jiao is the Mandarin Chinese name of the Ayungin Shoal.
"Breach of commitments and provocations will only escalate the situation and eventually backfire on the Philippines itself. We hope the Philippines will face that squarely and decide sensibly what its action should be," he added.
In a separate statement, National Security Council Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya also slammed China for its “new narrative” on what it claimed as arrangements in the West Philippine Sea.
“The propaganda masters are clearly working overtime in Beijing to sow discord and division in our country for one purpose alone: to push their claim that the Philippines is the one causing increased tensions in the WPS and provoking conflict because it has reneged on its promises,” Malaya said.
Malaya maintained the stand of Marcos, rescinding any understanding and agreement reached by the Philippines and China before his administration took over.
“The Chinese Embassy is reminded that any understanding without the authorization of the President has no force and effect. And therefore the Philippines never broke any agreement because there was none to begin with,” he said.
“Moreover, the Philippines will never agree to any 'internal understanding' or 'new model' that can be deemed to be acquiescence or recognition of China’s control and administration over the Ayungin Shoal as China’s territory. As Ayungin Shoal is a part of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Philippines, we cannot agree to any such understanding that violates the Philippine constitution or international law,” Malaya added. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)