Q: Recently, a number of senior government officials of the Philippines have been denying that the Marcos administration has negotiated, and reached agreement with China on arrangements for managing the Ren’ai Jiao issue. Secretary of National Defense Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr. said in a statement that the Department of National Defense (DND) is not aware of, nor is it a party to, any internal agreement with China on Ayungin Shoal (Ren’ai Jiao) since President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. took office; As a matter of fact, DND has not had any contact with any Chinese government officials since last year. National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said that China’s so-called “new model” on Ayungin Shoal is nothing more than a new invention and there is no agreement whatsoever about Ayungin Shoal. Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo said in a speech that in recent days there have been attempts to call into question the Philippines’ sincerity and good faith and portray the Filipinos as unreliable actors in negotiations, peddling narratives that the Philippines has sent interlocutors that have entered into informal agreements and understandings abandoning their claims and entitlements. The Philippines must continue to categorically reject these narratives when it can. What is the Chinese Embassy’s comment on this?

A: China has always been committed to properly managing maritime differences through dialogue and consultation with the Philippines and has made relentless efforts in this regard. The “gentlemen's agreement” is a concrete outcome of such efforts. To follow up on the important consensus between the two heads-of-state to deescalate tension in the South China Sea,  the Chinese side and the Philippine side through AFP WESCOM agreed on a “new model” for the management of the situation at Ren'ai Jiao early this year after multiple rounds of discussions. Either the “gentlemen’s agreement” or the “new model” is a confidence-building measure aimed at managing disputes, avoiding conflicts and maintaining peace, and has nothing to do with each other's sovereign positions. During the discussion the AFP WESCOM has made repeated confirmation that the “new model” has been approved by all key officials in the Philippine chain of command, including the Secretary of National Defense and the National Security Advisor. The communication and negotiation on this subject matter is kept on record in every detail by the Chinese side. Thanks to the “new model”, frontliners of both sides had guidance to follow on how to interact with each other, which made the resupply mission on last February 2 a smooth one. The AFP Spokesperson described this resupply mission as“flawless” in a post on social media X on the same day. Positive efforts of the frontliners in this regard are commendable.

China has always attached great importance to communication and dialogue with the Philippine DND and the AFP. In fact, on 5th of July 2023, Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines had the honor to pay a courtesy call on Defense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr. at Camp Aguinaldo, exchanged views with the latter on China-Philippines military relations, and maritime issues, among other things. Duringing the meeting, the Philippine side was briefed on the "gentlemen's agreement" on the management of Renai Jiao. Readouts of the meeting were released respectively by the DND and the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines.

The above are facts, not narratives or inventions. China is always committed to managing the situation at Ren'ai Jiao and maintaining dialogue and communication with the Philippines in a responsible manner. It is regretable that despite the internal understandings and arrangements, peace and tranquility was disrupted again and again at Ren'ai Jiao.  More and more questions are wracking our brains. Why does the Philippine administration keep denying and resisting the understandings and arrangements? Why does the DND refuse to properly manage maritime differences through dialogue and negotiation? Admittedly the "gentlemen's agreement" was reached during the previous Philippine administration, it is also a fact that the "new model" was reached during the incumbent Philippine administration. Then why was such a model which has been proven effective in practice for managing differences and avoiding conflicts abandoned again by the Philippines without any good  reason after it worked only once? And who made the decision to abandon the "new model"? Could it be that managing differences and avoiding conflicts go against the interests of certain forces?