Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo raised concerns about the growing presence of Chinese ships in Ayungin Shoal during a panel discussion at the Munich Security Conference on Sunday.

Responding to a question on why the Philippines has yet to fulfill its alleged promise to tow away BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin Shoal, Manalo pointed out the puzzling presence of numerous Chinese ships in the area, despite it being significantly distance from China.

“On the issue of the Ayungin Shoal, we call it Ayungin Shoal in the Philippines [or] Second Thomas Shoal. There was never a promise to take off the ship,” he said.

“But what we should really take into account is why there is such a huge presence of Chinese Coast Guard vessels around the Ayungin Shoal. I mean that the question,” he added.

China claims the vast South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea. Recently, confrontations between the Philippine Coast Guard and China Coast Guard and militia vessels have significantly increased.

Beijing has been consistent in insisting on its territorial rights on Ayungin Shoal, demanding the Philippines to tow the BRP Sierra Madre away from the area.

The BRP Sierra Madre, a World War II ship, is a permanent station for the Philippines’ military personnel in Ayungin Shoal, also known as Second Thomas Shoal.

Manalo highlighted that Ayungin Shoal is just 70 nautical miles from the nearest Philippine territory, in stark contrast to the "hundreds of nautical miles" separating it from China’s Hainan.

“Why are there so many Chinese Coast Guard ships there? Is it their territory? Anyway, if we follow the UNCLOS or the Arbitral Award, we are clearly within our rights to patrol that area,” he stressed, referring to the 2016 arbitral decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration that favored Manila’s sovereign rights in the area.

Manalo also noted that the Philippines is “merely exercising” its rights to the area and does not intend to pose any threats to any nation that is also claiming the area.

2016 Arbitral award

Manalo also asserted that the 2016 Arbitral Award that rejected China’s historic “nine-dash line claim” over the South China Sea is “legally binding and part of the international law.”

“It is clear that the arbitral award of 2016 is legally binding and part of the international law, and our only hope is that one day China can abide by the arbitral ruling… to put certainly ease tensions,” he said while looking at Fu Ying, former Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People´s Republic of China, who was also among the panelists.

China has been consistent in rejecting the arbitral ruling, calling it “illegal, null and void.”

Prior to this, Fu was asked about China’s apparent double standards when it comes to adhering to rules-based orders while rejecting the arbitral ruling.

In response to the question, Fu argued that the Philippines failed to fulfill its obligations under UNCLOS procedures when it filed an arbitral case against China.

“The Philippines did not even tell us that they went to arbitration, and the results are very one-sided,” she said, stressing that the arbitration ruling is not yet final and could be challenged.