THE Philippines has “explicitly promised” several times that it will tow away BRP Sierra Madre from the Ayungin Shoal, China’s Foreign Ministry said in a Tuesday, August 8, 2023.
In a statement, the China Foreign Ministry (CFM) asserted its ownership of what it called the Ren’ai Jiao or for the Philippines, the Ayungin Shoal, following the incident over the weekend where China Coast Guard (CCG) used water cannons to drive away Philippine ships sailing in the area for a resupply mission.
It noted that Ren’ai Jiao has always been a part of China’s Nansha Qundao, or the Spratly Island.
It said the Philippines was illegally sending construction materials in Ren’ai Jiao, causing the water cannon incident.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry has lodged serious démarches to the Philippines.
“The Philippines explicitly promised several times to tow away the military vessel deliberately and illegally ‘grounded’ at Ren’ai Jiao. However, 24 years have passed and instead of towing it away, the Philippines has sought to repair and reinforce it on a large scale in order to permanently occupy Ren’ai Jiao,” it said.
“We made it clear to the Philippines that it must not send construction materials meant for repairing and reinforcing the ‘grounded’ military vessel on a large scale, and we suggested that the two sides hold talks as soon as possible ways to manage the situation at Ren’ai Jiao. The Philippines, however, chose to ignore China’s goodwill and sincerity and went ahead with sending construction materials for repairing and reinforcing the ‘grounded’ military vessel on a large scale. This is the cause of what happened there this time,” it added.
It maintained that the CCG responded in accordance with the law to safeguard their sovereignty and maritime rights and interests and the maneuvers were professional, restrained and beyond reproach.
The CFM also tagged the Philippines’ arbitration award of the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) as “illegal null and void,” noting that it violates international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos).
It said that China does not accept or recognize the arbitral ruling, “and will never accept any claim or action based on the award.”
In response, National Security Council Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya said he, along with the country’s foreign affairs officials, are not aware of China’s claims.
“We have no idea what they are talking about. I have talked to our colleagues from the Department of Foreign Affairs, even the ones from the Department of National Defense from the previous administrations. There was no commitment, whatsoever, as far as the Philippines is concerned and there is no record of any such commitment,” Malaya said in a television interview.
“There is no record of a meeting or an official record that the Philippines, in the past, committed to China that it will tow away the BRP Sierra Madre,” he added. (SunStar Philippines)