Defense chief insists no deal made with China on disputed sea

By Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza, Reporter

THE PHILIPPINE Department of National Defense (DND) denied on Sunday that it had been involved in any agreement with China over Second Thomas Shoal, following the Chinese embassy’s statement that the two sides had agreed on a new model for the South China Sea feature.

Defense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro, Jr. in a statement called the insinuation a “devious machination of China through their Embassy in Manila”’ and a “falsehood” aimed at distracting Filipinos away from China’s intrusions into the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the South China Sea.

The Chinese Embassy in Manila on Saturday said the Armed Forces of the Philippines Western Command and China “early this year” had agreed on a so-called “new model” for managing tensions in the Second Thomas Shoal.

The agreement, according to the statement, was “approved by all key officials in the Philippine chain of command, including the Secretary of National Defense and the National Security Advisor.”

Mr. Teodoro said he has not allowed any contact between the Defense agency and the Chinese Embassy since the courtesy call of Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian a few days after he took office in July 2023.

“During the said courtesy call, there was no discussion or briefing on any ‘gentleman’s agreement’ or ‘new model,’ which is contrary to the Chinese Embassy’s pronouncements,” said the Philippine defense chief.

Mr. Teodoro said the claim was made right after China’s aggressive moves within the Philippine EEZ were condemned in a recent meeting in Hawaii with his counterparts from the US, Japan, and Australia.

“I am issuing this statement to generate awareness of this clear attempt by China to advance another falsehood in order to divide our people and distract us from their unlawful presence and actions in our EEZ,” he said.

Beijing’s coast guard ships backed by maritime militia vessels have been firing water cannons at Philippine vessels delivering supplies to BRP Sierra Madre, a Navy vessel that Manila grounded in Second Thomas Shoal in 1999 years after China’s seizure of Mischief Reef.

The shoal is located 240 kilometers off the coast of Palawan province and is about 900 kilometers from Hainan, the nearest major Chinese landmass.

Second Thomas Shoal was among the five features most frequented by patrols of the Chinese Coast Guard last year, according to the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative.

The supposed new model followed a revelation from former presidential spokesman Herminio L. Roque, Jr. in March that Mr. Marcos’ predecessor, Rodrigo R. Duterte, had entered into a “gentleman’s agreement” with China over the shoal.

Under the alleged agreement, the two nations supposedly agreed to keep the “status quo” in Second Thomas Shoal, which meant only basic supplies and not building materials would be delivered to the BRP Sierra Madre.

The Philippine foreign affairs department in March said Beijing had raised the supposed gentleman’s agreement in its proposals to Manila on how to de-escalate their tensions in the South China Sea.

“We advise our citizens, the media, and the international community to beware of China’s methods of manipulation, interference, and malign influence in furthering its own interests,” Mr. Teodoro said.