Chinese Embassy confirms 'gentleman's agreement'; Marcos seeks answers
The Chinese Embassy in Manila on Friday confirmed that there was a 'gentleman’s agreement' during the Duterte administration which the Marcos administration failed to comply since February 2023. It added this has led to tension in Ren'ai Jiao, or Ayungin Shoal.
Now that the Chinese Embassy disclosed this, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr told reporters in Washington on Saturday he has three questions regarding the gentleman’s agreement, or secret agreement: Is there such an agreement? What is contained in the secret agreement, and why is it secret?
“Ano ba ang pinangako ng Duterte administration sa China? Dahil hindi pa natin alam eh kung ? ngayon lang pa lang natin talaga ? ngayon lang tayo nakakatiyak na mayroon talagang, mayroon pala talagang agreement. Tawag nila is gentleman’s agreement, tawag ko diyan, secret agreement,” he added.
Marcos said he is ready to sit down with former president Rodrigo Duterte to discuss the agreements entered into by the government in connection with the South China Sea.
In a statement posted on its website late Friday, the Chinese embassy said they entered into a verbal agreement with Duterte which allows the Philippines to deliver food and water supplies to troops stationed at BRP Sierra Madre, which has been grounded in Ayungin Shoal since 1999, “out of humanitarian considerations”.
“But we resolutely oppose the Philippines sending large amount of construction materials, and we will never accept the Philippines conducting large-scale repair and reinforcement of the warship in order to build permanent structures to permanently occupy Ren'ai Jiao (Ayungin Shoal) illegally,” the embassy said.
The embassy did not disclose the nature of the agreement and when this was reached between then President Rodrigo Duterte and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping.
China said the agreement, which helped maintain ''the overall peace and stability at Ren'ai Jiao (Ayungin Shoal), was still followed by the Philippines until February 2023.
The Chinese embassy said the Philippines has “categorically denied its existence, and kept stirring up trouble to provoke incidents”, which it cited were the reasons there were tensions in the waters near Ayungin Shoal. China has reiterated it holds sovereignty over the West Philippine Sea.China said after several negotiations, the two nations agreed to a “new model” to manage the tensions in the West Philippine Sea, but the Philippines allegedly broke its promise by sending construction materials to the shoal.
“Yet again, in disregard of China's goodwill and good faith, the Philippine side repeatedly broke its promise and went back on its own word by sending construction materials to the illegally "grounded" warship to build a permanent outpost with fixed facilities in an attempt to permanently occupy Ren'ai Jiao. The Chinese side has no choice but to take all necessary measures to safeguard its own sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the Chinese embassy said.
It urged the country to fulfill its promises, stop provocations and continue talking with the Chinese government on how to handle the territorial disputes.
“We would like to once again urge the Philippines to honor its promises and consensus reached, stop provocations and return to the right track of dialogue and consultation. It is hoped that the Philippines will work in the same direction with China so that the two sides can jointly manage the situation at Ren'ai Jiao and maintain the hard-won peace and stability in the South China Sea and in the region,” the embassy said. DMS-Jaspearl Tan
