Top Philippine, China envoys tackle sea row on sidelines of ASEAN event
By John Victor D. Ordoñez, Reporter
TOP diplomats from the Philippines and China on Saturday met in Laos to discuss their sea dispute, according to Manila’s Foreign Affairs chief, a month after the two reached an arrangement for Manila’s resupply missions to Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea.
In an X post on Sunday, Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique A. Manalo said he had spoken with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Vientiane, Laos about their “differences.”
“I mentioned that both countries should adhere to the agreement,” he said.
The Philippines and China reached a “provisional arrangement” during a bilateral consultation mechanism in Manila on July 2 for resupply missions at the disputed shoal.
Both countries 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.
China has said it would only allow Philippine resupply missions to the shoal, where Filipino soldiers live on a grounded ship, if it is informed in advance.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Manila had never agreed to prior notification during talks with Chinese officials.
The DFA on Saturday said a civilian vessel escorted by the Philippine Coast Guard successfully conducted a resupply mission to Second Thomas Shoal. “No untoward incidents were reported” during the mission, it said.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry in a statement at the weekend said Beijing had been notified of the resupply mission before it was carried out.
“After confirming on site that the Philippine vessel carried only humanitarian living necessities, the Chinese side let the vessel through,” it said.
In a separate statement on Sunday, Philippine Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ma. Teresita C. Daza said Beijing’s Foreign Ministry inaccurately described how the supply mission was carried out.
“Let us make it absolutely clear: the understanding between the Philippines and China was concluded in good faith, with the explicit agreement that it will not prejudice national positions,” she said.
“It is not helpful to keep giving false notions about what has been agreed on and how they were implemented,” she added.
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.
China claims more than 80% of the South China Sea, overlapping with the exclusive economic zones of Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines.
A United Nations-backed tribunal in 2016 voided China’s claim over the waterway for being illegal. Beijing has ignored the ruling.
United States Secretary of State Antony John Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III are set to meet with Mr. Manalo and Defense Secretary Gilberto Eduardo C. Teodoro, Jr. in Manila on July 30 to discuss maritime and security issues.
They are also set to pay Mr. Marcos a courtesy call at the presidential palace.
Their visit to Manila is part of their trip to Asia, where they seek to reassure allies and partners of US support, Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Kritenbrink said last week, as the November US presidential election casts uncertainty over US foreign policy.
“The Philippines will remain committed to the peaceful settlement of disputes, including through dialogue and consultation, and will honor the understanding on RORE (rotation and reprovisioning) missions,” Ms. Daza said, “We expect China will also adhere to the understanding as negotiated.”
The US stands by its “ironclad” commitments to defend the Philippines against an armed attack in the South China Sea, Mr. Blinken told Mr. Manalo during his visit to Manila in March.
He said defense ties with the Philippines were “extraordinary” and would only grow further, adding that Washington’s expanding alliances were not aimed at China.
In his third address to Congress on Monday, Mr. Marcos said the Philippines would continue to find ways to deescalate tensions in contested areas in the waterway “without compromising our position and our principles.”
“The Philippines cannot yield,” he said. “The Philippines cannot waver… The West Philippine Sea is ours,” he added, referring to areas of the South China within the country’s exclusive economic zone.