Rep. Rodriguez accuses China diplomat of disrespecting Marcos

For insisting that the Philippines has promised to remove BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin Shoal, Chinese Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Zhou Zhiyong has "disrespected" President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., a lawmaker said Wednesday.

"His insistence amounted to disrespect and an insult because President Marcos had declared days earlier that he had made no such promise and that he was scrapping any such commitment, if one was made by any of his predecessors," Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said in a statement.

"Mr. Zhou and his government should have just accepted the President's declaration."

The BRP Sierra Madre has been grounded at the shoal since 1999. The Philippines maintains a small Navy presence there to guard the territory, which is 105.77 nautical miles from the nearest Philippine province of Palawan and constitutes part of the country’s 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf as provided under a United Nations convention.

"Ayungin is about 194 kilometers from Palawan and is clearly within our EEZ. The shoal is more than 3,000 kilometers from the nearest Chinese island. Who are they to tell us to abandon our own maritime territory?" said Rodriguez, a member of the House Committee on Foreign Relations.

Beijing, however, claims Ayungin Shoal, which it calls Ren'ai Jiao, is part of its territory in the South China Sea.

Rodriguez issued the statement after Zhou, in a news forum earlier this week, said the Philippine government has not been responding to China's repeated requests for dialogue to solve issues in the South China Sea.

In a video message last week, Marcos denied that the Philippine government had promised China to remove BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin Shoal. He also said that he is rescinding any commitment should there really be an existing agreement between the Philippines and China on the removal of the vessel.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has dismissed China's demand to remove BRP Sierra Madre from the Ayungin Shoal, saying the grounded ship is a permanent military station tasked to "protect and secure Philippine rights and interests in the West Philippine Sea."

Rodriguez, in his statement, suggested that the DFA should summon Zhou "to impress upon him the President’s firm statement that no such promise has been made and that the Philippines does not intend to remove BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin as symbol of our country’s sovereign rights over that area."

GMA News Online asked the Chinese Embassy for comment but it has yet to respond as of posting time.

Rodriguez, meanwhile, expressed support over the Philippine government’s silence on the supposed Chinese requests for negotiations.

"You do not negotiate with anyone encroaching on your backyard," he said. "You exert effort to drive him away.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) recently bared that on August 5, China Coast Guard vessels did "dangerous maneuvers and illegal use of water cannons" against its vessels going to Ayungin Shoal for a resupply mission at the BRP Sierra Madre.

This prompted the Philippine government to send a note verbale to Chinese Ambassador Huang Xillian. —KBK, GMA Integrated News