As President Marcos announced “a response and countermeasure package” against the dangerous attacks by the China Coast Guard (CCG) in the disputed South China Sea, the Chinese Foreign Ministry maintained that doing so will not affect its maritime rights and interests.
 

During the regular press briefing of Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin, the official emphasized Beijing’s claims in the resource-rich region and assailed the Philippines for “provoking” China.
 

“Whatever policy the Philippines adopts, it should not affect China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests,” he told reporters.
 

“We hope the Philippines will honor its commitments, act on the understandings and consensus between the two sides, and observe the Declaration on the Conduct (DOC) of Parties in the South China Sea jointly signed by China and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries,” he added.
 

The official maintained that the Philippines must “stop” infringing on China’s rights and “pulling forces outside the region into matters of the South China Sea.”
 

Wang urged Manila to “return to the right track of properly managing the situation through negotiation and consultation, and act responsibly for the peace and stability in the South China Sea.”
 

The official then hit the Philippines for reneging on its alleged promise to tow away the grounded BRP Sierra Madre from the Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal. Beijing and previous Philippine administrations have yet to reveal which President had made such a commitment. 
 

“The Philippines tries to hide the fact that it has broken its promise to China, violated China’s sovereignty and kept provoking China. This is the only viable explanation for the Philippines’ string of false accusations against China,” Wang said.
 

“The truth on the Ren’ai Jiao issue is that the Philippines went back on its words. It made a serious promise to tow away its illegally grounded warship, but 25 years on, the Philippine vessel is still there,” he added.
 

These remarks came after Marcos announced recently that he had given directions to relevant national government agencies and instrumentalities to implement a response that is “proportionate, deliberate, and reasonable in the face of the open, unabating, and illegal, coercive, aggressive, and dangerous attacks” by the CCG and the Chinese Maritime Militia.
 

The Chief Executive’s announcement was made after several incidents in the Ayungin Shoal when CCG would ambush Philippine supply vessels with water cannon, which recently led to injuries and damages.
 

Wang said the supply mission proved that the Philippines “breached the understanding” between the two countries because it was only allowed to send living necessities to the grounded ship “out of humanitarian considerations.”
 

It was earlier admitted by former presidential spokesman Harry Roque that former president Rodrigo Duterte had a “gentleman’s agreement” with Chinese President Xi Jinping about not sending construction materials to the shoal.
 

“However, the Philippines refused to honor its promise and made attempts to send construction materials for large-scale repair and reinforcement of the warship in order to permanently occupy Ren’ai Jiao,” the Chinese official alleged.
 

Wang also claimed that the “real cause of the current tensions at sea” was because the Philippines “has been going back on its words and making provocations.”
 

The shoal, the site of multiple similar incidents in recent months, lies about 200 kilometers from Palawan island, but more than 1,000 kilometers from China’s southern Hainan island.