The Philippine government maintained that it will not seek permission from China to conduct a resupply mission to a grounded ship in the Ayungin Shoal despite Beijing’s protest that such missions infringed into its territory, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Thursday, Nov. 16.

BRP Sierra Madre (File Photo/MANILA BULLETIN)

A statement from DFA Spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza was released after the Chinese Foreign Ministry defended China Coast Guard’s (CCG) actions last Nov. 10 during a resupply mission by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in Ayungin Shoal.

“We are being asked to give prior notification each time we conduct a resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal. We will not do so. The resupply missions are legitimate activities within our EEZ (exclusive economic zone), in accordance with international law,” the official said.

Instead, she called on China “to remove all these illegal structures, cease reclamations in the South China Sea, and be accountable for the damages caused by these illegal activities.”

On Nov. 10, 11 Chinese ships conducted what the PCG called “dangerous maneuvers” near the Ayungin Shoal while five Philippine ships were en route for a standard resupply mission to the grounded BRP Sierra Madre.

“The resupply mission to and the upkeep of the BRP Sierra Madre are legitimate Philippine government activities in our EEZ, and in accordance with international law, particularly UNCLOS. It is difficult to imagine how these activities could be deemed threatening to China,” Daza said.

She reiterated that the BRP Sierra Madre is a commissioned Philippine naval vessel permanently stationed in Ayungin Shoal since 1999 “to serve as a constant Philippine government presence in response to China's illegal occupation in 1995 of Panganiban Reef, also known as Mischief Reef.”

The statement also clarified that the Philippines “has not entered into any agreement abandoning its sovereign rights and jurisdiction over its EEZ and continental shelf, including in the vicinity of Ayungin Shoal,” opposing an earlier claim by Beijing that Manila promised to withdraw the BRP Sierra Madre from the shoal.

The DFA official maintained that the Philippines’ policy and actions in the disputed West Philippine Sea will remain “guided” by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 Arbitral Award.

She described these as “the twin anchors” of the Philippines’ stance in the contested resource-rich region.

In response to China’s territorial claim of the Ayungin Shoal and nearby areas, Daza reiterated that the “law is clear” that the shoal cannot be subjected to sovereignty claims because it is a low-tide elevation and not an island.

Located 106.3 nautical miles from Palawan, she stressed the 2016 Arbitral Award that said Ayungin Shoal is part of the Philippines’ 200-nautical-miles EEZ, over which the Philippines has sovereign rights and jurisdiction.

“China cannot, therefore, lawfully exercise sovereignty over it,” she added, emphasizing that the shoal is 423.30 nautical miles from the China’s Paracel Islands and 617.39 nautical miles from mainland China.

Quoting the 2016 Arbitral Award that stated “UNCLOS superseded any historic rights or other sovereign rights or jurisdiction, in excess of the limits imposed by UNCLOS,” the DFA official stressed that “China cannot claim entitlements” based on the nine-dash or 10-dash line.

“We reiterate that creating and maintaining a favorable and conducive environment is essential to the peaceful resolution of the South China Sea situation.”