Former President Rodrigo Duterte said he only recalled agreeing with China to keep the status quo in the West Philippine Sea, where neither Manila nor Beijing would make a move that would disrupt the peace in those waters.

Duterte made the clarification in a press conference late Thursday night after his former spokesperson Harry Roque said earlier that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping had a “gentleman’s agreement” regarding the disputed waterway.

Roque claimed Duterte had agreed the Philippines would not deliver supplies to repair the BRP Sierra Madre. This vintage World War II navy ship was purposely grounded on Ayungin Shoal in 1999 to serve as the country’s outpost at the shoal.

During the press conference, Duterte said he never conceded anything to China as President.

“The only thing I remember was that status quo. That’s the word. There was no movement, no armed patrols there. It was as is, where it is, so that we won’t have any trouble. That’s what I could remember. I do not even know the Ayungin Shoal,” Duterte said.

After disavowing any knowledge of a formal agreement, Duterte affirmed his commitment to preserving the peace in the South China Sea.

He said any understanding with China, if it existed, would have been aimed at maintaining stability and preventing the escalation of tensions.

“I assure you that if it were a gentleman’s agreement, it would have been an agreement to keep the peace in the South China Sea,” Duterte said.

Earlier this week, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he was “horrified” by the rumored “gentleman’s agreement” between Duterte and Xi over the West Philippine Sea.

He said he was talking to officials in the Duterte administration for clarification.

“I am horrified by the idea that we have compromised, through a secret agreement, the territory, the sovereignty, and the sovereign rights of Filipinos,” Marcos said.

“We’re talking to his former officials. Maybe not the (former) President himself, but we are asking all his former officials about that deal and to explain to us so we will know what to do. We still haven’t gotten a straight answer,” Marcos added.

China and the Philippines both claim maritime areas in the South China Sea. Beijing claims the entire area, including parts that are well inside Manila’s exclusive economic zone.

In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague threw out China’s broad historical claims to the waterway, but Beijing has refused to recognize the decision. A Chinese Coast Guard launched water cannon attacks on Philippine boats in the disputed waterway, which has made things more tense.

Honor agreement

Meanwhile, China has urged the Philippines to honor its so-called “gentleman’s agreement” with former President Duterte, allegedly made to maintain the status quo in the West Philippine Sea.

In a press briefing on Thursday, China Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said the tension in the West Philippine Sea was due to the current administration’s abandonment of the agreement.

Mao said the reason behind the current situation at Ren’ai Jiao (China’s name for Ayungin Shoal) is very clear. First, the Philippines refused to tow away the warship illegally grounded there.

“Second, the Philippines denies the existence of the gentleman’s agreement reached with China under the Duterte administration and has repeatedly infringed on China’s sovereignty in those waters and made provocations,” she said.

“Third, the Philippines has abandoned the current administration’s understandings with China on the Ren’ai Jiao issue, sent construction materials to the grounded warship for large-scale repairs and reinforcement in an attempt to permanently occupy Ren’ai Jiao,” she added.

Mao said if the Philippines genuinely seeks to ease tensions, it “needs to honor the commitments and understandings and stop provocations.”

Tow it away

China insists the Philippines is “violating” China’s sovereignty by keeping the BRP Sierra Madre at Ayungin Shoal.

“First, by keeping its warship grounded at Ren’ai Jiao for decades, the Philippines has been violating China’s sovereignty and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DoC), especially Article 5, which says it must refrain from inhabiting the presently uninhabited islands and reefs,” it said.

“We demand that the Philippines tow away the warship at once and restore the Ren’ai Jiao’s state of hosting zero personnel and facilities,” it added.

‘Out of humanitarianism’

China, however, expressed its willingness to allow the Philippines to conduct its regular rotational and resupply missions to its troops on the BRP Sierra Madre “out of humanitarianism.” But the offer comes with a few conditions.

“China is willing to allow it if the Philippines informs China in advance and after an on-site verification is conducted. China will monitor the whole process,” it said.

“Third, if the Philippines sends large amounts of construction materials to the warship and attempts to build fixed facilities and a permanent outpost, China will not accept it and will resolutely stop it in accordance with law and regulations to uphold China’s sovereignty and the sanctity of the DoC,” it added.