China says it needs to be informed in advance before PHL resupply missions
By John Victor D. Ordoñez, Reporter
THE CHINESE Foreign Ministry on Monday said it would allow the Philippines to conduct resupply missions to a disputed shoal in the South China Sea if it is informed beforehand, a day after they agreed on a “provisional arrangement” for the missions.
But the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said it had never agreed to prior notification during talks with Chinese officials early this month.
“The spokesperson’s statement therefore regarding prior notification and on-site confirmation is inaccurate,” it said in a statement, adding that Manila would continue to assert its rights and jurisdiction over its maritime zones.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry on its website said it would allow resupply missions to Second Thomas Shoal, where a handful of Filipino soldiers live on a grounded ship called the BRP Sierra Madre, “in a humanitarian spirit.”
That is, if Manila informs Beijing in advance about the missions, and after on-site verification is conducted, according to an unnamed spokesperson.
It added that Manila is barred from bringing in construction materials to the warship, which China has said Manila had illegally placed at the shoal.
“We continue to demand that the Philippines tow away the warship and Ren’ai Jiao’s (Second Thomas Shoal) state of hosting no personnel or facilities.”
The Philippines grounded the World War II-era ship at the shoal in 1999 to bolster its sea claim.
The DFA on Sunday said the parties had agreed on a “provisional arrangement” during a bilateral consultation mechanism in Manila on July 2 for resupply missions at the disputed shoal, which the Philippines calls Ayungin.
Manila and Beijing resumed talks to ease tensions in the South China Sea after accusing each other of raising tensions in disputed shoals and reefs in the waterway.
Chinese Coast Guard forces with bladed weapons on June 17 boarded Philippine rubber boats and looted several rifles stored in gun cases, actions that Manila’s military chief Romeo S. Brawner, Jr. said only “pirates” do.
A Filipino Navy officer on a rubber boat lost his right thumb after the boat was rammed by a Chinese Coast Guard rubber boat.
In the past year, China’s coast guard repeatedly used high-pressure water cannons to dissuade Philippine vessels from entering highly contested areas within the country’s exclusive economic zone including Second Thomas Shoal and Scarborough Shoal.
Beijing issued new rules, which took effect on June 15, that would enforce a 2021 law allowing its coast guard to use lethal force against foreign ships in waters that it claims.
In a separate statement, the DFA said Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique A. Manalo would push maritime security cooperation with regional neighbors at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Ventiane, Laos on July 21 to 28.
“The Philippines will continue to articulate its consistent positions on the South China Sea issue as it has done in past ASEAN meetings,” it said.
The Philippines and China have agreed to set up new lines of communication to improve their handling of sea disputes after the July 2 meeting.
Beijing maintains it has sovereignty over most of the South China Sea based on its old maps and has deployed hundreds of coast guard vessels deep into Southeast Asia to assert its claims, disrupting offshore energy and fishing activities of its neighbors including Malaysia and Vietnam.
China has refused to recognize a 2016 international arbitral ruling that voided its claims for being illegal.
“In our desire to deescalate the situation in the South China Sea and to manage differences in a peaceful manner, we emphasize that the agreement was done in good faith and the Philippines remains ready to implement it,” the DFA said. “We urge China to do the same.”
