China claimed that the Philippines had to limit the area where Filipino fishermen could fish and where Filipino troops could fly over and navigate in the Scarborough Shoal.
That's what the Philippines supposedly entered into with China seven years ago to manage differences over the South China Sea, according to the Chinese Embassy in Manila.
It said that in 2016, China made a "special arrangement" to allow Filipino fishers in designated waters, except the lagoon of Scarborough Shoal.
The shoal is located within the West Philippine Sea or within the country's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), as affirmed by the 2016 Arbitral Award based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
The embassy also claimed that the Philippines agreed that it would not deploy any of its vessels or aircraft beyond 12 nautical miles or its corresponding airspace of Scarborough.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has yet to make comments.
The embassy said that it is now taking action against the Philippines—a move seen by other countries as aggressive and harassing—in the waters because the latter refused to abide by such an agreement, among many others.
The Philippines already "crossed the line," which Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela "did not shy away from admitting," the embassy said."
Over the past 7 plus years, the Philippine side had abided by the above agreements, and fishing by Philippine fishermen in designated areas off Huangyan Dao was not an issue," it said.
However, the embassy alleged that the Marcos administration unilaterally disrupted the arrangement by dispatching "coast guard ships and official vessels to intrude a number of times into waters."
The Marcos' administration also "encouraged the Filipino fishermen to challenge the arrangements to help promote its political agenda," it added.
It also reneged on its own words on the management of the West Philippine Sea and unilaterally abandoned the Gentlemen’s Agreement, Internal Understanding and New Model agreed upon by the two sides, according to the embassy.
The embassy has been citing several supposed agreements that the Philippines has entered into, but it has not shown any document of any of the deal yet.
"China was compelled to take necessary measures to safeguard our sovereignty and maritime rights and interests," the embassy said.
Meanwhile, the embassy also shrugged off several countries’ expression of concern over the Chinese aggression on the Philippine vessels by saying they do not represent the international community and are just only taking sides.
It made a statement after its Coast Guard fired on April 30 a water cannon on two Philippine ships conducting a food supply mission in the waters off Bajo de Masinloc.
“Over the past one year, the same batch of countries issued statements on maritime incidents between China and the Philippines,” the embassy said.
“Instead of speaking on the true merits of the matter, those statements were intended to take side. Against nearly 200 countries in the world, this batch of countries cannot represent the international community,” it added.