China to Philippines: Meet us halfway regarding sea situation

More than a week since the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) used water cannons against Philippine vessels en route to Ayungin Shoal, Chinese Embassy’s Deputy Chief of Mission Zhou Zhiyong on Monday called on the Philippines to meet China halfway through diplomatic dialogues to maintain peace and tranquility in the South China Sea.

Zhou said this during the day's Pandesal Forum in Quezon City and insisted that Ayungin Shoal, which he called Ren’ai Reef, is part of China’s Nansha Islands.

The Chinese official said that China and the Philippines are neighbors that “can’t move away from one another,” thus disputes between both countries should be managed through dialogues and consultations.

“China has repeatedly expressed its willingness to resolve differences with the Philippines through bilateral dialogues. We hope that the Philippines side will abide by the existing consensus and cherish the hard won situation in our bilateral relations. Meet the Chinese side halfway and find an effective way of managing the situation on the sea through diplomatic consultations,” Zhou said.

Zhou also said that China has lodged “solemn representations immediately requesting the Philippine side to tow away the vessel,” referring to the BRP Sierra Madre. He insisted that the Philippines agreed to remove the ship that has been grounded in Ayungin Shoal since 1999.

“The Philippine side also made explicit commitments to do so. The representations were put on record and well documented,” he said.

“It’s been 24 years and the Philippines side has yet to honor its commitment. The Chinese side, however, has always exerted the utmost restraint, with a view to maintaining the relations with the Philippines and safeguarding regional peace and stability,” he added.

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. last Wednesday denied that the Philippine government had promised China to remove BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin Shoal.

Marcos also said that he is rescinding any commitment should there really be an existing agreement between the two countries on the removal of the vessel.

According to Zhou, the Philippines and China in 2021 conducted discussions to manage the dispute over Ayungin Shoal, reaching a consensus for the conduct of the resupply mission on the BRP Sierra Madre.

However, beginning early this year, he said the Philippine government “refused to acknowledge and implement the existing consensus and started to take a series of unilateral actions.”

Zhou said that China also sent a draft proposal to the Philippine side to address the matter, but it has yet to receive a formal response from Manila.

“To prevent any incidents from occurring, the Chinese side has lodged representations both in Beijing and Manila to the Philippine side, requesting the Philippines to return to the track of honoring the existing consensus and refrain from taking unilateral actions before any new understanding is reached between us,” he said.

“Regrettably, in defiance of the repeated situation and warning from the Chinese side, the Philippine side insisted on transporting construction materials to the grounded vessel for overhaul and reinforcement with the intent of permanently occupying Ren’ai Reef. The above is the cause of this incident,” he added.

He was referring to the report of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) wherein the China Coast Guard did “dangerous maneuvers and illegal use of water cannons” against its vessels going to Ayungin Shoal on August 5 for a resupply mission at the BRP Sierra Madre.

Zhou said China has made “temporary and special arrangements” for 24 years for the Philippine vessels to conduct resupply missions for troops stationed on BRP Sierra Madre by only bringing food and other daily necessities “out of humanitarian consideration.”

“Meanwhile, the Chinese side has also made it clear that we are firmly against transportation of large scale construction materials to the ground it warship with the purpose of permanent occupation through reinforcements,” he added.

The CCG earlier said it had taken "necessary controls" against Philippines vessels that had "illegally" entered its waters.

PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela, meanwhile, stressed that the BRP Sierra Madre is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

A note verbale was sent to China following the August 5 incident in Ayungin Shoal. —KBK, GMA Integrated News