Arya News - State Palace press officer Claire Castro said the President wanted to “reset” the Philippines’ relationship with China and prevent a repeat of violent incidents involving Filipinos and Chinese in the West Philippine Sea.
MANILA – President Marcos spoke on the phone late Thursday with United States President Donald Trump where the US leader said he would “take up concerns of the Philippines” with China in his next meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the Presidential Communications Office said.
The call was confirmed by US Ambassador to the Philippines Lee Lipton.
“One of my goals as US Ambassador to the Philippines is to ensure our two leaders are regularly in touch with each other. Great things ahead!” Lipton posted on X.
The phone conversation followed a meeting between Marcos and US State Secretary Marco Rubio on Wednesday.
Marcos updated Rubio on the recent incidents in the South China Sea.
Palace press officer Claire Castro said the President wanted to “reset” the Philippines’ relationship with China and prevent a repeat of violent incidents involving Filipinos and Chinese in the West Philippine Sea.
Marcos made the remarks after he summoned Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan to Malacañang last Tuesday, a day after two Philippine Navy sailors were injured following a confrontation with a Chinese coast guard team that intruded into Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, Castro said.
“The President wants these incidents not to happen again, and he hopes to reset the relationship between China and the Philippines toward a better engagement,” she said.
Castro did not say what the President meant by “reset” when she was asked to elaborate. Diplomatic ties between the Philippines and China were established in 1975 under the administration of the President’s father, Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
The July 20 incident was the most serious confrontation between the two sides since the June 2024 attack by members of the China Coast Guard (CCG) against Navy personnel delivering supplies to the BRP Sierra Madre at Ayungin. A sailor’s thumb was severed in that incident, and two Navy inflatable boats were seriously damaged.
CCG ships had also rammed and damaged Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessels in open waters in the West Philippine Sea. In many instances, CCG ships also fired powerful water cannons at Filipino government vessels and fishing boats.
Castro said Marcos and Jing, spoke for about 80 minutes. Foreign Undersecretary for Policy Leo Herrera-Lim, Assistant Secretary for Asian and Pacific Affairs Marshall Louis Alferez and a Chinese Embassy officer attended the meeting.
Castro declined to disclose details of their discussions, including whether there were any commitments from Manila and Beijing as both sides agreed not to reveal what they talked about.
Malacañang also declined to deny or confirm whether there was a categorical assurance from China that another violent incident would not happen again.
“But it appears that the President’s message was well received by the Chinese ambassador, and the meeting went well,” Castro said.
“During their meeting, the Chinese ambassador heard the President, and the President also heard the ambassador. Hopefully, that will lead to better outcomes,” she added.
Provisional arrangement
Castro noted that both Jing and Marcos, along with the other officials, were smiling after the meeting.
“The President looked satisfied that he had conveyed to China what the Philippines wanted to express,” she said.
Shortly after the meeting, however, Jing issued a statement accusing the Philippines of violating a provisional arrangement between Manila and Beijing regarding Ayungin by allegedly undertaking construction work on BRP Sierra Madre, which serves as Manila’s military outpost at the shoal.
Jing claimed the alleged activities breached the understanding reached by Manila and Beijing in July 2024 following months of dangerous confrontations during Philippine rotation and resupply missions to the grounded warship. He also alleged that the supposed violation triggered the latest confrontation between Philippine and Chinese personnel at the shoal.
Foreign Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro on Thursday rejected the ambassador’s statement. “No, there is no mention of that undertaking in the provisional understanding,” Lazaro said during a press briefing on the third day of the 59th Association of Southeast Asian Nations Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Pasay City.
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. also dismissed Jing’s statement.
He neither confirmed nor denied that the alleged construction violated the provisional arrangement, but he told reporters that China had “no business interfering” with Philippine activities at Ayungin.
DFA explains deal
Also in response to the ambassador’s statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said that the Philippines doesn’t need China’s permission to conduct rotation and resupply missions to Ayungin.
The 2024 provisional arrangement with Beijing does not recognize any Chinese authority over Philippine waters, the DFA said in a statement on Thursday.
“The Provisional Understanding is a set of principles and approaches observed by both sides in order to avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation in the conduct of the Philippines’ routine rotation and resupply missions for daily necessities to the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal,” the DFA said.
The understanding “is not a grant of or a request for permission to any foreign government” and “does not recognize any foreign jurisdiction over Philippine waters,” it added.
Manila and Beijing made the arrangement following the June 2024 attack by CCG elements against the Philippine Navy sailors and previous confrontations around Ayungin, about 194 kilometers west of Palawan.
Another water cannon attack
The DFA also said the arrangement does not allow the boarding or inspection of Philippine vessels and “does not concede the Philippines’ sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction.”
Malacañang said it would continue to engage China “in good faith,” despite the repeated provocative and hostile behavior of Chinese forces in the West Philippine Sea.
Early on Thursday, however, a CCG ship fired its water cannon at a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessel that was delivering fuel to Filipino fishermen at Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, according to the PCG.
The CCG vessel—CCG 3302—came within 50 meters of the bow of BRP Datu Dumangsil at 5:54 a.m. and fired its water cannon about 35 minutes later. The more than two-minute burst did not directly hit the BFAR vessel and caused no damage, a PCG statement said.
Not to be trusted
However, a second CCG ship—CCG 21579—made a dangerous maneuver when it crossed the path of another BFAR vessel, BRP Datu Paiburong, just 500 meters away around 6 a.m.
Teodoro has repeatedly warned that Beijing could not be trusted. But Castro said the government remains optimistic in its dealings with China because successful diplomacy required that both sides negotiate with the expectation of honesty.
“We always act in good faith. We should always approach these discussions in good faith and assume that the people we are dealing with are also acting in good faith,” Castro said.
“It’s difficult to negotiate if you begin by assuming the other party will lie. So when we engage in dialogue and negotiations, we should approach them with the expectation that the other side is also acting in good faith,” she added.
Malacañang noted that while Teodoro could express his opinion based on his facts, it does not necessarily reflect Mr. Marcos’ opinion as the chief architect of the country’s foreign policy.
Injured Navy men honored
The President on Thursday visited the two Navy personnel who were injured in the July 20 encounter.
Seaman 1st Class Underwater Operator Carmelo Abalie and Private Eric Lasida were awarded the Order of Lapulapu medal and P100,000 each in financial assistance.
“President Marcos Jr. expresses gratitude for the remarkable heroism of the two soldiers and their courageous defense of Philippine waters,” Castro said.
Bilateral relations between the Philippines and China peaked under Presidents Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Rodrigo Duterte.
Manila-Beijing ties, however, have deteriorated due to the maritime disputes in the South China Sea, particularly since the 2012 standoff at Panatag Shoal.
In 2013, the Philippine government under President Benigno Aquino III filed an arbitration case against China over its sweeping claims in the South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea.
Arbitral ruling
On July 12, 2016, at the start of Duterte’s term, the arbitral tribunal invalidated China’s sweeping “nine-dash line” claim in the South China Sea, later expanded to a “10-dash line.” China did not participate in the arbitration and has refused to recognize the ruling.
Duterte later chose not to enforce the arbitral decision to avoid armed conflict with China as well as to pursue closer bilateral relations, win economic investments and infrastructure from the Asian superpower, despite strong domestic pushback from legal and defense experts.
In May 2021, Duterte made a statement dismissing the 2016 arbitral award as a mere “piece of paper” that he would “throw in the wastebasket.”
In 2023, Marcos overturned Duterte’s stance, declaring that the Philippines “will not lose one inch of its territory” in accordance with national and international laws, and would work with neighboring and like-minded states for security in the South China Sea.
Read More:
China expels two Philippine govt vessels from disputed waters
China fires water cannon on Philippine ship at Scarborough Shoal, Manila says