The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Friday pushed back against former Supreme Court senior associate justice Antonio Carpio’s sustained criticism over the agency’s provisional understanding with China, daring him to provide a safe, alternative solution that could enable military resupply missions to the Ayungin Shoal without stoking tensions with Beijing in the contested waters. 

DFA spokesperson for maritime affairs Rogelio Villanueva’s remark came two days after Carpio doubled down on his criticism of the pact with China, which he argued effectively diminishes the Philippines’ sovereign rights over the area, in an interview with DAILY TRIBUNE’s Straight Talk. 

“Instead of criticizing government actions, we invite former SC associate justice Antonio Carpio to offer to the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) any viable alternative that can ensure the continued efficient, timely, and safe conduct of resupply missions that provide essential supplies and facilitate the regular rotation of our troops in BRP Sierra Madre,” Villanueva stressed. 

Furthermore, the DFA official emphasized that the agreement is merely intended to “avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation at sea” and does not automatically give China an upper hand over the Philippines by requiring Filipino troops to seek permission from Beijing before it inspects Philippine vessels during routine rotation and resupply (RORE) missions.

The deal was reached in July 2024 to de-escalate tensions between the Philippines and China following a series of violent confrontations during RORE missions to BRP Sierra Madre, a grounded Navy ship serving as a Philippine military outpost stationed at Ayungin Shoal. 

Although it was never kept under wraps, the heated standoff between Philippine troops and the Chinese Coast Guard on 20 July of this year shed light on its broader context after China accused the Philippines of “violating” the agreement.

The recent confrontation left two Philippine Navy personnel wounded, with one suffering a serious injury after being struck on the head by a wooden baton.

Beijing claimed that the deal bars Manila from undertaking repairs and reconstruction of the grounded warship at Ayungin Shoal.

Although the DFA subsequently confirmed that there was indeed a provisional pact, it pointed out that it was not a concession by the Philippines.

Carpio, however, chided the DFA for entering such a conditional agreement with China,  arguing that it was tantamount to surrendering parts of the WPS and undermined the 2016 arbitral award, which ruled that the Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal lies within the 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf of the Philippines. 

Carpio contended that the deal implicitly gives China leverage, obliges the Philippines to pre-notify or obtain inspections before resupply missions, and risks weakening the country’s sovereign claims in the WPS.

Moreover, he called into question the purported secretive nature of the deal, noting that the government has refused to disclose the agreement in full publicly.

Carpio also slammed DFA Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro and her predecessor, Enrique Manalo, for entering the agreement despite lacking authority.

The retired SC justice told Straight Talk that under Philippine law, “the accord would be unconstitutional because the Foreign Affairs Secretary has no right to give up our sovereign rights.”

Manalo was still the DFA chief at the time of the negotiations, which was handled by Lazaro, who was previously serving as undersecretary.

The two officials, according to Carpio, have a lot of explaining to do, and demanded that they disclose the full contents of the agreement with China.

The DFA has maintained that the agreement does not diminish the Philippines’ sovereign stance in the disputed waters, and RORE missions will continue “for as long as necessary.”

Villanueva also committed that the DFA will “always uphold the country's sovereign rights in its EEZ as affirmed by [the] 2016 arbitral award.”

Although the Philippines and China have kept their friendly ties, the two nations have also long been embroiled in a longstanding maritime row over Beijing’s sweeping claims in almost the entire South China Sea, including areas that overlap with the WPS.

China has never honored the 2016 arbitral award that favored the Philippines and invalidated Beijing’s territorial claims in the WPS, calling it “a worthless piece of paper that is illegal, null and void, and has no binding force.”