By saying that the conflicting maritime claims of the Philippines and China over Ayungin Shoal is a “gray area,” President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. contradicted the assertions of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) that the 2016 arbitral court decision had declared the area as part of the Philippine exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.
STATEMENT
On Aug. 5, two Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessels used water cannons to prevent three Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) boats from entering Ayungin Shoal to deliver supplies to soldiers stationed in the BRP Sierra Madre stuck on the rock since 1999.
When asked to comment two days later, Marcos said:
“Ang position ng China, siyempre sinasabi nila ‘kami ang may-ari nito, eh kaya pinagtatanggol namin.’ Eh, tayo naman sinasabi: ‘Hindi! Kami ang may-ari nito kaya ipinagtatanggol namin.’ Kaya’t ‘yun ang nagiging gray area ngayon.”
(China’s position is, ‘We own this, that is why we are defending it.’ We, on the other hand, say: ‘No! We own this, that is why we are defending it.’ That is the gray area now.)
Source: Presidential Communications Office, Media Interview by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in Bulacan (transcript), Aug. 7, 2023, watch from 8:57 to 9:11
Marcos added that he would call a command conference to discuss this latest incident on Ayungin Shoal, internationally known as Second Thomas Shoal but referred to as Ren’ai Reef by China.
FACT
Ayungin Shoal is a low-tide elevation that cannot be appropriated or subjected to sovereignty claims. The final and binding July 12, 2016 award in the South China Sea arbitration expressly stated that Ayungin Shoal is “within the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf of the Philippines” over which the country has sovereign rights and jurisdiction, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro told China’s Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian.
Lazaro summoned Huang to the DFA and conveyed the Philippines’ “strong protest” on the Aug. 5 incident.
The NTF-WPS issued a separate statement echoing the DFA’s position.
“As a low[-] tide elevation, Ayungin Shoal can neither be the subject of a sovereignty claim nor is it capable of appropriation under international law – a fact affirmed by the 2016 Arbitral Award. China cannot, therefore, lawfully exercise sovereignty over it.”
Source: National Security Council of the Philippines, JOINT STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL TASK FORCE FOR THE WEST PHILIPPINES SEA ON THE 5 AUGUST 2023 AYUNGIN SHOAL INCIDENT, Aug. 7, 2023
During an Aug. 7 joint press briefing of the DFA and the NTF-WPS, the DFA said the Philippines has filed 445 diplomatic protests against China’s incursions in the country’s waters since 2020. In 2023 alone, 35 diplomatic protests, including a note verbale regarding the latest Ayungin Shoal incident, was personally handed by Lazaro to the Chinese envoy during their meeting.
On the same day, the Chinese Foreign Ministry asserted that Ayungin Shoal is part of China, saying that the Philippines infringed on its sovereignty.
Jonathan Malaya, assistant director general of the National Security Council, reiterated that the Philippines “will never abandon” the BRP Sierra Madre, a permanent outpost of the military which is reportedly in a dilapidated condition already.
In 1999, the Philippine Navy deliberately grounded the 100-meter long ship in Ayungin Shoal in response to China’s illegal occupation of the Mischief Reef (Panganiban Reef) in 1995.
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Sources
Presidential Communications Office, Media Interview by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in Bulacan (transcript), Aug. 7, 2023
Department of Foreign Affairs, Statement on the Summoning of the Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines by DFA Undersecretary Lazaro on the Morning of 07 August 2023, Aug. 7, 2023
Philippine Coast Guard official Facebook page, WATCH: “The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) expresses strong condemnation towards the unlawful behavior exhibited by the China Coast Guard vessels , Aug. 8, 2023
National Security Council of the Philippines official Facebook page, JOINT STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL TASK FORCE FOR THE WEST PHILIPPINES SEA ON THE 5 AUGUST 2023 AYUNGIN SHOAL INCIDENT, Aug. 7, 2023
RTVMalacañang official YouTube channel, Joint Press Briefing of NTF-WPS 08/7/2023, Aug. 7, 2023
United Nations official website, United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, accessed Aug. 8, 2023
Chinese embassy in the Philippines official Facebook page, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson’s Remarks on the Statement of the US State Department Concerning Ren’ai Jiao, Aug. 7, 2023
Chinese embassy in the Philippines official Facebook page, In response to the Philippines’ accusation toward China…, Aug. 7, 2023
Official Gazette official website, DFA statement on China’s allegation that the PH agreed to pull out of Ayungin Shoal | Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines, March 14, 2014
ABS-CBN News, On Board the BRP Sierra Madre, accessed Aug. 8, 2023
VERA Files, Will the MDT be operationalized in Ayungin Shoal clash?, Feb. 15, 2023
Supreme Court official website, G.R. No. 212426, Jan. 12, 2016
