Diplomat: Top PH officials OKd Ayungin deal with China

Senior Philippine security officials of the Marcos administration had approved two deals with China on the “management” of the escalating tension between the two countries in the West Philippine Sea, particularly at Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, a diplomatic source said on Thursday.

The foreign diplomat, who is familiar with the talks between the two sides, also said that the new deals followed the controversial “gentleman’s agreement” between former President Rodrigo Duterte and Beijing, which was sealed in November 2021.

Duterte himself earlier this month admitted that he acceded to Beijing’s demand not to repair or reinforce the BRP Sierra Madre, a decrepit World War II-era warship serving as a military outpost at Ayungin, supposedly to avoid any armed confrontations between Filipino and Chinese forces over their maritime dispute.

‘New model’

The diplomatic source, however, declined to reply when asked whether the removal of the Sierra Madre from the shoal was part of the Duterte agreement. The intentional grounding of the ship in 1999 has riled China over the years and Beijing has repeatedly claimed that the Philippines promised to tow away the Sierra Madre.

Following the gentleman’s agreement and the termination of the Duterte presidency, two more deals between Manila and Beijing followed—an “internal understanding” and a “new model,” according to the source.

President Marcos has said that he was unaware of the agreement to remove the Sierra Madre and Duterte’s deal on not to repair or refurbish the outpost. In separate statements, he said that if there were such deals, he was rescinding them.

The diplomatic source said the “internal understanding” with the Marcos administration was supposedly reached in September 2023 and the “new model” at the end of that year. It was approved by “the leadership” of the Philippine government, he said.

He did not identify the officials who approved the new deals by name, but cited the positions of at least two—defense secretary (Gilberto Teodoro Jr.) and national security adviser (Eduardo Año, who also served under Duterte).

Teodoro and Año did not immediately respond to the Inquirer’s request for comment.

The contents of the three deals were “more or less the same” and covered the technical arrangement on how to manage the situation at Ayungin, the source said.

Working on ‘trust’

Without giving specific details, he said the agreements covered the number of vessels each side can put in place, how they were to interact with each other and how to “trust” each other. There was an “understanding” that no construction materials should be carried by resupply vessels to the Sierra Madre.

It is notable that he mentioned that the two sides agreed that the Philippines should use only one supply vessel.

These agreements were “worked out” through the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Western Command (Wescom), he said. The Wescom is based in Palawan province.

Asked if there was official documentation on the agreements, the source said Beijing kept records in various forms, including video messages or recordings of video conferences and Viber message exchanges.

The new model supposedly allowed unimpeded resupply to the Sierra Madre. But this happened only once, in February this year. That resupply mission unhampered by the Chinese was acknowledged in a post on X made by AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla, which she later deleted.

The deleted post, a screenshot of which was provided to this reporter, read: “Mission accomplished! Today, we executed a flawless rotation and resupply operation for BRP Sierra Madre. Teamwork, precision, and dedication at its best.”

In a Feb. 3 report by the Inquirer, Padilla said the Philippine resupply vessels were “not blocked” by Chinese ships in the area, adding that there were no “untoward incidents” during the mission.

He did not identify the officials who approved the new deals by name, but cited the positions of at least two—defense secretary (Gilberto Teodoro Jr.) and national security adviser (Eduardo Año, who also served under Duterte)

In a statement two weeks ago, the Chinese Embassy said the Philippines “abandoned” the Duterte agreement in February 2023 and denied its existence. The two sides then held talks and reached an “internal understanding” and later a “new model” in handling their maritime dispute, particularly on Ayungin that led to the single unhampered resupply of the Sierra Madre.

Both Teodoro and Año have not directly spoken about their alleged approval or involvement in the supposed deals with Beijing.

In a statement read for him by Jonathan Malaya, assistant director general of the National Security Council, during a news forum last Saturday, Año cited the President’s statement that the current administration was not aware of the “secret” deal made during Duterte’s term.

According to Año, the promises which were allegedly made by the Philippines in an agreement with China were “unsubstantiated or imaginary” and were intended to distract and sow divisions and conflict among the Filipino people.

‘New invention’

“If there is such agreement, it is the responsibility of those responsible for it to explain it before the Filipino people. But it is not and will never be binding upon this administration,” Año said.

In his own statement, Malaya, who is also the spokesperson for the National Task Force on West Philippine Sea, called out China over its “new narrative” about the supposed arrangements in the West Philippine Sea.

“Let me state clearly: This new model is nothing more than a new invention. As the President clearly stated, there is no agreement whatsoever about Ayungin Shoal and we shall continue doing all activities within the bounds of international law and we shall prove no interference in our lawful actions,” he said.

Malaya said that any socalled understanding had “no force and effect” if it was not authorized by the President.

He said the Philippines did not break any agreement with China “because there was none to begin with.”