THERE is one phrase that the Chinese Foreign Ministry keeps repeating whenever there is a clash between the Philippine Coast Guard or civilian supply boat and the Chinese Coast Guard near Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea: “The Philippines broke its promise.”
Filipino reporters covering the foreign affairs beat as well as foreign correspondents have a Viber group with the Chinese Embassy in Manila where we get news updates. When this they-broke-their-promise statement cropped up again last March 5, the Chinese Embassy was asked again: What does Beijing mean by that? What was the promise? Who promised to whom?
The Chinese Embassy information officers were mum.
Maybe we are so used to our politicians (or lovers and employers!) promising the moon and reneging on it. But in China, where Confucianism is the moral compass, honesty is a virtue. For them, it’s like one of their Ten Commandments.
So when the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the Philippine side broke its promise, it is to them a big violation of ethical doctrine. So, for people in China who read or watch their narrative, it is a big accusation. And Mandarin-speaking Filipinos who heard the original statement mentioned by the Chinese Foreign Ministry have confided to me that the translation provided to us was already sanitized and that the Mandarin words were “more hurtful” in context.
A Chinese official spoke to a select group of Filipino reporters last week on the condition of Chatham House Rules—we are free to use the information that we will receive on the condition that we do not identify the speaker nor the affiliation of the source. (I asked the BusinessMirror editor-in-chief for permission to agree to the condition, and she said yes.)
The source narrated to us the “promise” allegedly made by the Philippine government on Ayungin Shoal and why the Chinese Coast Guard is allowing only one boat.
The source said in the last two years of the Duterte administration, there was an “understanding” that the Philippine government will only provide basic supplies to the Philippine troops stationed in the BRP Sierra Madre on Ayungin Shoal.
“There was an understanding with the previous administration that was approved by the high up, and of course approved by the whole command chain.
“Food, water, even some beauty products for your military, we understand. Even for regular rotation, that’s fine. But not to bring-in a large scale of building materials,” the Chinese official said.
He said the Philippine military had shared with them their intention to buttress the rusting BRP Sierra Madre, a World War 2-era naval ship.
AFP chief of staff General Romeo Brawner admitted last October that the Philippine military has started doing “superficial repairs” on BRP Sierra Madre to improve the living conditions of the soldiers with decent sleeping and dining facilities, as well as improve access to the internet.
But apparently, the AFP intimated—or signalled?—to the Chinese side that they will put more reinforcements on the ship which would make it sturdier.
Remember, this is a World War 2 ship and it has been grounded in that shoal for 25 years. Imagine the rust all around it. The soldiers staying there may not die from a Chinese attack but of tetanus poisoning, or the ship will just break down, scattering them in the middle of a sea wilderness.
Apparently, the notion of reinforcing BRP Sierra Madre alarmed Beijing, as this would mean that its grounding would make it more permanent; and technically, means the Philippines has already “occupied” the shoal.
This, the Chinese claim, makes the Philippines a violator of the Declaration on the Code of Conduct for Parties (DOCC) in the South China Sea, which obliges claimants to “refrain” from doing activities that would complicate or escalate the disputes, such as inhabiting on the “presently uninhabited” islands, reefs, shoals, cays, and other features.
BRP Sierra Madre was intentionally grounded by the Navy in 1999. The DOCC was signed in 2002.
Still, Beijing sees the Ayungin Shoal as “presently uninhabited” with just the BRP Sierra Madre moored on it.
With this “understanding,” the Chinese Coast Guard has been instructed to allow only one boat to proceed to the Ayungin Shoal during rotation and resupply mission. The other boat, escorted by the Philippine Coast Guard vessels, would now come under water cannon firing.
When asked how does the Chinese Coast Guard know that the other boat carries the construction supplies, the official said Philippine military officials had told them that they only need one boat to bring basic supplies.
When President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. took office, the “understanding” was deemed no longer in effect, thus the sending of additional Coast Guard vessels as escorts of two civilian boats contracted by the AFP Western Command. This puzzled the Chinese side.
Last year, President Marcos said he is not aware of any promises to the Chinese on the matter of Ayungin Shoal. “If there does exist such agreement, I rescind that agreement now,” he declared.
The source said they understand that a change in the administration in the Philippines would also mean a change in policy. But they were hoping that the Philippine government would have given them a proper heads-up.
“With the change of government, there will be changes. But we need to come to the table to discuss and reach a new understanding. That’s our practice. Because the Chinese Coast Guards, the frontline, they have received the instruction. A kind of code of conduct and what circumstance they will not make, and what circumstances they have to make some response.
“But the problem was that this administration was eager to change. So it led to—despite our warning—I warned them again and again, I said, ‘No, before we reach some understanding, please be patient. Let’s talk.’
“But they insisted. They said that’s up to us. They even asked us a question, ‘What about if we do this, if we send or do something new, what will be our reaction.
“Then, they asked ‘what about if we ask the support of the Americans?’” the source intimated.
As of this writing, I’m still trying to reach Delfin Lorenzana and Teodoro Locsin Jr., the defense and foreign affairs secretaries during the Duterte administration, to comment about this supposed “understanding” that the Chinese government says it had with the previous government.
I asked a high-ranking official from the Department of Foreign Affairs if there was indeed such an “understanding” or “arrangement” made. The official denied they made such a promise.
“Why would we agree to that? There is no record of it, no proof of it. If there’s no record, then the Chinese are lying,” the Filipino diplomat said. The problem though, the source conceded, was that during the administration of President Duterte, Chinese President Xi Jinping would call Duterte without Secretary Locsin joining the call, so the DFA does not have an official record of their phone conversations.
In my more than 20 years of covering the foreign affairs, it is very rare for Chinese officials to be very candid about issues which are very sensitive such as the West Philippine Sea.
The Chinese side is obviously very hurt, as much as we are. They are also human. But in the world of uncertainty, with the war between Russia and Ukraine and renewed Israel-Palestinian conflict, I believe the Chinese side is also worried that the South China Sea dispute is getting out of hand. The official who spoke to us is probably risking his position or stature, but it speaks volumes of how desperately they want to resolve this problem with the Philippine government. For me, it is important to note also that the Chinese side also let go of its “promise” in the mid-90s that the Panganiban Reef (Mischief Reef) would just be a fisherman’s shelter, and then turned it into a huge military outpost. Let’s just hope that cooler sides and diplomacy would prevail, and fewer promises are broken.