The Philippines and China have agreed on an arrangement regarding the country’s rotation and resupply (RoRe) missions to the BRP Sierra Madre at Ayungin Shoal, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced Sunday.
The “understanding” was reached after a “series of consultations following frank and constructive discussions between the two sides during the 9th Bilateral Consultation Mechanism (BCM) on the South China Sea in Manila on 2 July,” the DFA said.
“Both sides continue to recognize the need to de-escalate the situation in the South China Sea and manage their differences through dialogue and consultation and agree that the agreement will not prejudice each other’s position in the South China Sea,” the DFA added in its statement.
The department did not provide details of the arrangement, such as whether the Philippines has to ask permission from China whenever it conducts a RoRe mission.
It also did not say if Manila agreed not to deliver construction materials to the dilapidated BRP Sierra Madre, the World War II ship that was deliberately grounded on Ayungin in 1999 in response to China’s illegal occupation in 1995 of Panganiban or Mischief Reef.
Over the past years, tensions between Manila and Beijing have escalated as the latter has become increasingly aggressive in obstructing the Philippines’ regular rotation and resupply missions to the personnel stationed on the Sierra Madre.
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 had significantly increased.
Beijing has been insisting on its territorial rights in Ayungin Shoal, demanding that the Philippines remove the Sierra Madre.
It also attributed the escalation in the area to the Philippines’ attempt to bring construction materials to the Sierra Madre to conduct “large-scale repairs” on the decades-old ship.
China’s actions against Philippine vessels and crew have included the use of water cannons and laser beams, dangerous maneuvers, and the ramming of boats, among other hostile tactics.
Ayungin Shoal, also known as Second Thomas Shoal, became a point of contention between the two countries due to their overlapping claims to the low-tide feature in the West Philippine Sea.
Located 105 nautical miles west of Palawan, Ayungin Shoal is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.
In July 2016, the Philippines won the arbitral case it lodged against China in the Permanent Court of Arbitration. China, however, has rejected the award.