A diplomatic source from the Chinese embassy in Manila on Tuesday, May 7, disclosed what was supposedly contained under the “new model” that the Philippine government allegedly entered into with China on the resupply of the BRP Sierra Madre in the West Philippine Sea.
While various Philippine government agencies already warned about China’s narratives which they said lack credibility and have no factual basis, a diplomatic source and his team from the embassy met with Manila Bulletin and another selected media organization to discuss the details of the supposed "new model."
The diplomatic source also played a recording of the two-minute phone call between the Philippine side and the Chinese side.
The embassy also provided a transcript of the call, where they identified the Philippine side as the "AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) WESCOM (Western Command) chief and a Chinese diplomat, who had a good command of the English language during the conversation.
The phone call happened in January 2024, according to the diplomatic source. At that time, the AFP Wescom Commander was Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos.
Manila Bulletin is still confirming, through various sources, the veracity of the information in the recording, which the Chinese embassy cited as "proof" that an agreement had been reached.
But various government agencies have already refuted recently China's claim that there was such a new model.
Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gibo Teodoro, told reporters Wednesday, May 8, that China's recording of a phone conversation, if it was really true, is a violation of the Philippine law and international relations.
"Kung itong statement ay totoong galing sa Chinese embassy na sila ay nagrecording ng sinuman sa Pilipinas, sila ay umaamin na lumabag sila sa batas ng Republika ng Pilipinas, particularly the Anti-Wiretapping Law (If the statement that the Chinese embassy recorded a phone call is true, then they're admitting that they violated the Philippine law, particularly the Anti-Wiretapping Law)," Teodoro said.
"At sila ay gumawa, kung totoo man into, ng bagay na labag sa international relations at labag sa batas dahil hindi sila nakipag-ugnayan sa Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), at sila ay umoperate pailalim (And they also committed, if proven true, an action that violated international relations and laws because they did not coordinate with the DFA and held an underground operation)," he added.
On May 5, said DND is not a party to any new model and China's claim is only a "devious machination." Beijing is also only trying to "advance another falsehood in order to divide our people and distract us from their unlawful presence and actions in our EEZ [exclusive economic zone]," he said.
National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said China's claim of a new model "is absolutely absurd, ludicrous and preposterous," and the timing of the such a claim "is clearly meant to distract us."
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) also said it is not aware of any new model and called on China to "desist from disseminating such disinformation or insinuations against Philippine officials."
New model
The main points of the "new model", as claimed, were the following, according to the source:
- There would be 1+1 model for both sides, which meant that the Philippine government would only deploy one Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessel and one resupply vessel to the Ayungin Shoal (Ren'ai Jiao to the Chinese), while China would only deploy one Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) ship and a fishing boat;
- The Philippine government would notify Beijing about its resupply mission two days prior;
- The Philippines would only send food and water supplies to the troops of the grounded BRP Sierra Madre; and
- The Philippines and China would have close communication during the former's resupply missions
In a February 2024, the Philippine government purportedly complied with the new model, which ensured a smooth resupply operation.
In March, however, the Philippines reportedly refused to abide by it, the diplomat said.
That explains why the Chinese government blocked such a mission and the succeeding ones, he said.
The source said that the Chinese embassy was also told by the Philippine side that "they're not going to follow the new arrangement" anymore.
Meanwhile, in the supposed phone call recording that was played before the media, the AFP Wescom chief reportedly told the Chinese diplomat representing the Chinese side that: "We agree to that one plus one proposal. And I have my bosses' concurrence to the agreement, to the proposal."
The Chinese diplomat also asked the AFP Wescom chief if AFP Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner, Teodoro and Año approved the new model, to which the latter reportedly responded by saying: "That is correct. I confirm that also."
In a statement on Tuesday, DFA said that it is only President Marcos who can approve or authorize any agreements on matters pertaining to the West Philippine Sea and the South China Sea.
"In this respect, the DFA can confirm that no cabinet-level official of the Marcos Administration has agreed to any Chinese proposal pertaining to the Ayungin Shoal," it added.