China urges the Philippines to honor consensus and jointly manage Ren'ai Jiao issue

China once again urges the Philippines to honor its promises and the consensus reached, return to the right track of dialogue and consultation, and work with China to jointly manage the situation at Ren'ai Jiao, a spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines said on Friday.

The spokesperson made the remarks in response to a question concerning whether there has been a "gentleman's agreement" between the Philippines and China during Rodrigo Duterte's presidency on the Ren'ai Jiao issue and whether there has been any renewed internal understanding between the current Philippine administration and the Chinese side on this issue.

Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos said on Wednesday that he was "horrified by the idea that we have compromised through a secret agreement the territory, sovereignty, and sovereign rights of the Philippines."

On the other hand, Marcos' predecessor Duterte said on Thursday that there was a "verbal" agreement on the management of the Ren'ai Jiao situation where the two sides agreed on keeping it "as is, where is," and that the Philippines "cannot bring in materials to repair and improve" so that there will be no conflict.

Noting China's position on the Ren'ai Jiao issue is consistent and clear, the spokesperson said Ren'ai Jiao is part of China's Nansha Qundao, adding that China has indisputable sovereignty over Nansha Qundao, including Ren'ai Jiao, and the adjacent waters.

The spokesperson said the Chinese side immediately lodged serious démarches when the Philippines "grounded" BRP Sierra Madre at Ren'ai Jiao in May 1999 and asked it to tow away the warship at once.

"The Philippines has made repeated and clear promises to do so as soon as possible, but it has yet to fulfill its promises to this day."

By illegally "grounding" the warship at Ren'ai Jiao, the Philippines violates China's sovereignty and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, especially its Article 5 on refraining from the action of inhabiting the presently uninhabited islands, reefs, shoals, cays and other features, the spokesperson added.

China demands that the Philippines fulfill its promise and tow away BRP Sierra Madre at an early date, said the spokesperson.

Over the past 25 years, out of humanitarian considerations, China has made special provisional arrangements for Philippine vessels sending living necessities like food and water to the illegally "grounded" warship, the spokesperson added.

"But we resolutely oppose the Philippines sending a 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 illegally."

In order to manage the Ren'ai Jiao situation, during the Duterte administration, China and the Philippines reached a gentleman's agreement, which effectively helped maintain the overall peace and stability at Ren'ai Jiao, said the spokesperson, adding that the agreement was still followed in handling the resupply mission of Ren'ai Jiao at the beginning of the current Philippine administration.

But since February 2023, the Philippine side has ceased to abide by the agreement, categorically denied its existence and kept stirring up trouble to provoke incidents, said the spokesperson, adding, "This is the reason behind the constant volatility in Ren'ai Jiao in the past year."

Nevertheless, China still maintains communication with the Philippines at all levels, trying to find ways to effectively manage the Ren'ai Jiao situation, said the spokesperson, adding that the Chinese side invited the special envoy of the Philippine president to China for special concerns to discuss how to properly manage the situation at Ren'ai Jiao last September, and both sides agreed on a "new model" for the management of the Ren'ai Jiao situation after rounds of negotiations earlier this year.

"Yet again, 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, said the spokesperson.

"We would like to once again urge the Philippines to honor its promises and the 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 spokesperson said.