The governments of China and the Philippines signed a provisional agreement on July 21 to avoid future confrontations over the Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea, and to find ways to resolve maritime disputes peacefully.
Known as Ren’ai Jiao in Chinese and Ayungin in Filipino, the shoal or the reef has been a reason for disputes between both countries in the last few years, sometimes leading to low scale direct confrontations between their armed forces.
The provisional agreement over the shoal talks about both countries agreeing to develop a mechanism to address each other’s concerns over the issue through further dialogue in an attempt to avoid such confrontations in the future.
Addressing a regular press conference on Monday, Mao Ning, spokesperson of China’s foreign ministry called it a “provisional agreement” largely related to “humanitarian resupply of living necessities.” She claimed that the agreement “reflects the goodwill of the Chinese side” and “we hope the Philippines will keep its word and work with the Chinese side to get the situation under control in the proper way.”
The full text of the agreement is not yet released. However, the Chinese foreign ministry issued a brief statement detailing the conditions of the agreement. The agreement provides that China will allow humanitarian supplies to the Filipino forces deployed at the deliberately grounded warship in the shallow waters of the shoal until it is towed away. The Philippines will not send anything to the warship which can be used to build a permanent structure and China will monitor the supplies to the territory.
China has allowed the supply of food and other essential materials to Filipino personnel on the warship previously as well. However, it has strong objections to the supply of construction materials which has led to several rounds of confrontations between the armed forces of both the countries in the past, including one in October last year, threatening larger confrontations. Last month a Chinese ship slightly collided with a Filipino ship near the disputed territory.
Violation of Chinese sovereignty
China claims the territory is part of Nansa Qundao (Spratly Islands) and accuses the Philippines of invading it in the 1970s. Claiming it as a part of its maritime borders, the Philippines deliberately grounded one of its warships BRP Sierra Madre in the shallow waters in 1999 and stationed personnel there. China calls it a violation of its sovereignty over the territory and is blocking attempts by the Philippines to build a permanent structure there.
China has claimed that the Philippines grounding warships amounts to the violation of the Declaration on the Conduct of the Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) which stipulates that no party should try to inhabit reefs or islands in the region which are uninhabited.
The Philippines, however, has received backing from the US, which has been increasingly intervening in the South China Sea for geostrategic reasons in recent times. The US has not only supported the Philippines’ claims, but has also increased military support to the country since the presidency of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in 2022. Marcos has been refusing to entertain Chinese concerns and has also refused to tow the warship from the Ren’ai Jiao, as China has demanded.
Marcos Jr. has also violated a 2016 agreement between then Filipino president Rodrigo Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping, known as Gentlemen’s Agreement over the disputed territories, claiming it goes against their country’s laws and even denying its existence.
Last year, the US issued fresh guidelines for its mutual defense treaty with the Philippines, originally signed in 1951, clearly threatening direct involvement if Filipino armed forces are attacked anywhere in the South China Sea.
China has called the US military engagements with the Philippines and other countries in the region such as Japan a deliberate provocation, and an attempt to create a NATO-like mechanism in the Asia Pacific.
Experts urge the Philippines to fulfill its obligations under the new deal and desist from getting other countries involved in the matter, as such moves may threaten peace in the region.
