For Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., the “provisional understanding” the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) supposedly entered into with China covering Philippine rotation and resupply (RORE) missions to the BRP Sierra Madre at Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal does not exist.

Teodoro said the claim of China should be examined based on facts, not assumptions.

“As far as I know, there was neither an agreement nor an understanding to begin with. I will not speculate because that only feeds efforts to create unnecessary controversy,” Teodoro said.

He added, “What remains clear is our obligation to protect our sovereign rights, support our lawful operations, and uphold the national interest, consistent with the Constitution and the President’s foreign policy.”

“I agree with him,” retired Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said in reply to Teodoro’s statement.

The DFA has maintained the provisional understanding is a temporary operational arrangement reached in July 2024 after increasingly violent confrontations between Philippine and Chinese vessels at Ayungin.

Its stated purpose was to prevent misunderstandings, miscalculations, and clashes during Philippine resupply missions, without either country giving up its legal or territorial position.

The complication is that the full text of the understanding was never made public, and Manila and Beijing have described its terms differently.

The DFA specifically rejected China’s claim that Manila had agreed to seek its permission, give them “prior notification,” and permit Chinese “on-site verification” of Philippine supplies to the Sierra Madre.

China described the understanding much more expansively. Beijing said the resupply of “living necessities” is permitted provided China is informed beforehand, China conducts on-site verification, and the China Coast Guard monitors the operation.

China also said the Philippines may not use the RORE missions to carry materials for constructing permanent facilities at Ayungin.

Carpio argued that treating the arrangement as “provisional” under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea could have legal implications.

China could eventually invoke the terminology or conduct as evidence of Philippine acquiescence to China’s assertions that were debunked in the 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling favoring Manila.

In the simplest terms, Manila and Beijing agreed on ground rules to govern the Philippines’ resupply of the BRP Sierra Madre without causing another confrontation — but the two countries do not publicly agree on exactly what those ground rules mean.

Weakened position

Defense analyst and international studies professor Renato de Castro said the arrangement may have undermined the Philippines’ position under the arbitral ruling.

De Castro said the agreement, reached after the 17 June 2024 confrontation at Ayungin Shoal where a Filipino sailor lost a finger, reportedly requires the Philippines to seek China’s permission before conducting resupply missions to the grounded BRP Sierra Madre.

The terms of the deal appeared to have been disclosed by Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan in explaining Beijing’s position to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during a recent meeting.

The understanding supposedly limits the supplies that could be delivered to humanitarian provisions such as food. It prohibits the Philippines from bringing construction materials to improve the situation of the Marines stationed aboard the rusting ship.

It also reportedly bars the construction of permanent structures on or around the vessel.

“If what Ambassador Jing stated truly reflects the contents of the provisional understanding between the Chinese government and the Department of Foreign Affairs, then the DFA should disclose exactly what that provisional understanding contains,” De Castro said.

He cited former justice Carpio’s description of the reported arrangement as a “derogation” of the 2016 Arbitral Tribunal ruling, which effectively means that the ruling was disregarded or undermined.